THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
In a bid to ameliorate poverty in the country, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has unveiled plans to empower 106,000 Nigerian women with N1.1 billion worth of micro-grant programme.
The philanthropist is set to achieve this through his Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) before the end of 2019.
Premium Times, a Nigerian online newspaper reports on Monday that the Aliko Dangote Foundation had commenced the identification of eligible beneficiaries, towards the implementation of the programme across the country and will actively target and empower 23, 000 women in Sokoto, 34,000 women in Katsina, 21,000 women in Kebbi and 28,000 women in Zamfara.
The Dangote Micro-Grant scheme which was launched in 2011 in Kano State is a N10 Billion project, targeting indigenous and vulnerable women nationwide and is being systematically rolled out nationwide to cover 774 Local Government areas in the country.
READ ALSO: Mastercard Foundation to facilitate employment for three million young Ghanaians
So far, 334,500 women and youths were said to have benefitted from the programme across Kano, Jigawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Lagos, Nasarawa and Niger States.
The scheme provides recipients with a one-time, un-conditional N10,000.00 cash grant to meet immediate household consumption and economic needs. As far as possible, participants also receive training tailored to bolster their income-generating activities which are critical for the welfare of millions of Nigerians.
The Dangote Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of Dangote Group, a company owned by Aliko Dangote. The Foundation is responsible for contributing over $100 million in charitable funds to several causes in Nigeria and Africa over the past four years.
Part of the Foundation’s activities in Nigeria include, N1 billion for Nigerian universities including N500 million for development of a business school in Bayero University and N100 million for the proposed Otuoke University in Bayelsa State.
The Foundation also disbursed N230 million to women in Kogi State as a micro grant as part of the Kogi Human Capital Development initiative.
Raphael Adenaike
