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No fewer than 5,394 Women Affinity Groups (WAGs) in Ogun State are set to benefit from a ₦6 billion Community Investment Fund (CIF) being deployed by the Federal Government to expand women-owned businesses, create jobs and boost household incomes.
The fund was flagged off on Wednesday in Ijebu-Ode under the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU), in collaboration with the Ogun State Government.
The intervention covers 127,105 women across 3,489 communities in seven local government areas, positioning the fund as a major grassroots economic empowerment initiative targeted at organised women groups.
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development said the investment was designed to provide eligible Women Affinity Groups with resources to expand their businesses, strengthen collective enterprises, improve productivity and contribute to local economic development.
The scale of the intervention comes against the backdrop of substantial financial activity already recorded by the groups.
According to the ministry, the 5,394 groups have collectively saved ₦2.69 billion, while ₦4.01 billion has been disbursed as loans among their members.
The ministry has also trained 368 ward facilitators to support the implementation of the programme at the grassroots.
Speaking at the flag-off, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development and Special Assistant, Technical and Community Engagement, Jummai Idonije, commended the Ogun State Government for its sustained support for women’s economic empowerment.
She also commended the women beneficiaries for demonstrating the value of collective organisation, disciplined savings, mutual support and enterprise development.
The minister said the intervention was in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which she said prioritises inclusive economic growth, social protection, women’s empowerment and opportunities for vulnerable and underserved Nigerians.
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She said women should not be regarded merely as beneficiaries of development but as active participants and drivers of economic transformation.
According to her, empowering women strengthens families, expands local economies, improves community resilience and contributes directly to national prosperity.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim urged the beneficiary groups to utilise the fund responsibly, maintain transparent and accurate records, invest productively and uphold accountability, cooperation and sustainability.
She encouraged the groups to deploy the funds towards expanding their businesses, increasing incomes, creating employment and improving the welfare of their families and communities.
The minister further urged the Ogun State Government and implementing partners to connect the Women Affinity Groups to wider opportunities under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions-774 (RH-SII 774).
She identified access to finance, markets, digital skills, agriculture and value chains, clean energy and enterprise development among the opportunities that could further strengthen the women’s businesses.
The minister acknowledged the partnership of the Ogun State Government, the World Bank, the NFWP-SU Federal Project Coordinating Unit, community leaders, implementing partners and other stakeholders in advancing the programme.
She reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with state governments and development partners to ensure that women, particularly those in rural, poor and underserved communities, gain greater access to productive resources, finance, skills, markets and economic opportunities.
