The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi on Saturday unveiled N1 billion Women Owned Micro Businesses (WOMB) named after the late Abibatu Mogaji Tinubu, mother of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The monarch also awarded 100 African youths in the Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, under the 2024 (fourth) Royal African Young Leadership Forum.
With the slogan “African of the future: Better together,” the companies that the royal father and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDAN) co-partnered with are regarded as the forum that attempts to elevate people from grass to grace.
“We will raise a lot of people from grass to grace,it will be led by the Africa Chamber of Commerce going forward. I ascended to the throne for this reason. We shall collaborate with others in order to create a brighter tomorrow.
“Through RAYLF, I’m unwavering committed to leading young people across Africa to reshape the future of the continent by harnessing their potential to address critical challenges that are bedevilling the shining light of the continent’s greatness,” the Ooni said.
The new RAYLF will be the largest network to propel the economy, according to Charles Odii, Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDAN), in his own contribution.
While signing the contract with Oni, Odii stated that the goal of SMEDAN and RAYLF’s collaboration is to formally establish a collaboration for the initiation of the N1 billion project for women-owned microbusinesses.
“The project is an initiative envisioned by HIM Ooni of Ife, to train, fund mentor and support female entrepreneurs across Nigeria with access to local, regional and global markets. SMEDAN committed to providing a N1 billion fund to support the WOMB project.
“This collaboration aims to enhance the capacity of WOMB through comprehensive training, funding, mentorship and access to market programmes administered by RAYLF. Both parties agreed to work together in good faith, ensuring the successful implementation and sustainability of the WOMB project.
“This partnership underscores our commitment to fostering economic growth, empowerment and sustainable development for female entrepreneurs in Nigeria,” the agreement read.
