Globaltimes 
In August 2021, Nestlé Nigeria launched “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in
Nigeria project” which aims to help rural women retailers within the company’s
value chain scale up their businesses to increase their household incomes.
The
program was recently launched in Nsukka and Obolo-Afor, both in Enugu State
to reach an additional 50 women retailers. This brings the number of
beneficiaries to 150.
“Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria project” is designed to equip
female distributors at the end of the pyramid to scale up to three times the size
of their existing business over 3 months and to sustain the new level.
Speaking on Nestlé’s contributions to empowering women within her value
chain, Mr. Khaled Ramadan, Commercial Manager for Nestlé Nigeria, said,
“At Nestlé, we believe that by contributing to the health and wellbeing of our
communities, we create shared value for all stakeholders while contributing to
the growth of our business. “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria
project” is our way of improving the livelihoods of women in the rural areas by
helping them scale their businesses to three times its current volume within
three months. Our ambition is to empower 300 of these women who are
retailers within our distribution channel.”
“We have received very positive feedback from the first 100 beneficiaries of the
program who are based in the suburbs of Abuja and Osogbo. They are reporting
faster turnover and increased revenue as well as stronger visibility of their
business outlets within their locations. We are therefore confident that our
intervention through training, mentorship and product grants are a right mix for
success. By improving the household incomes of the rural women, Nestlé is
helping to improve their access to adequate nutrition, good healthcare and good
quality education for their families.”
The beneficiaries of “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria project”
receive grants by way of Nestlé products valued at 300% of their current monthly
sales. They also participate in training and mentorship programs which equip
them with the requisite skills to scale up and sustain their businesses. These
programs are delivered by the implementation partner, FDConsults which also
works with each retailer over 3 months post training to help them succeed. Each
beneficiary retailer is linked to a one-on-one mentor for guidance and consistent
support
