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From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Thirty-year-old Mary Michael, at the wheel of a yellow agro-cargo electric tricycle, was a beauty to behold. She was one of the agro-cargo drivers presented to the audience at the launch of agro-cargo electric vehicles for rural women in Kano State.
A woman at wheel was a rare sight in Kano State. But here was Mary, young, fresh and ready to go, in this mildly dusty small village of Karfi, some 50 kilometres outside metropolitan Kano city.
In the past one year, she has been a member of an all-women cooperative society (Mata Zalla Entrepreneurs) that employs fuel-powered tricycles to convey female passengers and their goods to different parts of the state.
She lauded Propcom+ for facilitating a fleet of agro-cargo electric vehicles and expressed optimism that the initiative would improve the lives of rural women in the state, ease their transportation cost and multiply their farm-to-market benefits.
Country representative of the group, Adiya Ode, spoke at the launch of the vehicles last week, in Karfi, Kura LGA.
Represented by Ahmed Nuru, she explained that initiative, which they co-financed, entails the provision of 20 electric vehicles, a solar-powered charging station and a new logistic hub, describing the assets as a pathway to prosperity, climate resilience and inclusive growth for women in the state.
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“This initiative is bold. It brings together women-led institutions, agribusinesses and clean energy solutions. It opens new corridors for transporting fruits, vegetables, dairy, rice, etc—while placing women at the heart of rural logistics”
“The successful adoption of these e-vehicles will reduce the number and dependence on combustion engines in the area and, altogether, have promising potential in ensuring social inclusion, environmental conservation and, most importantly, improved resilience,” she said.
She also that the group was committed to enhancing and sustaining the incomes and economic growth of 3.79 million vulnerable Nigerians by 2030.
She recalled that they had previously facilitated access to flexible finances for Kano women to acquire and drive electric commercial tricycles on the streets of Kano.
President, Mata Zalla Entrepreneurs, Hauwa Ahmed, described the initiative as a bold step towards transforming the economy of women in northern Nigeria by lifting their participation in the transport and agricultural value chains.
“We believe that empowering women economically is not just a social cause, it is an economic necessity,” she declared.
Kano State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change, Dahiru M. Hashim, affirmed that the initiative would not only boost women participation in agro business but would also reduce post-harvest losses and curb environmental pollution.
