There was excitement at the Daktad Hotel events hall in Abeokuta, Ogun State, last Thursday when the Derinsola Abiola Foundation (DERABIF) empowered 110 women with ₦20,000 business grants.
While delivering her opening address, Derinsola Abiola, founder of the charity organisation, disclosed that the funding aligned with her unwavering passion for empowering women.
“I believe in community, I believe in giving back to my roots, I believe in human capacity development, and I believe in supporting women. I believe that while the government does what it can with resources available, those who are able to must also contribute to developing our communities and supporting our people.
“As we all know, there has been much interest in women’s empowerment because studies have shown that when women are empowered, there are substantial positive developments for the family that extend to the community.”
Abiola’s pride in her hometown and its women was evident as she spoke glowingly about its past and present, stating that the fund’s purpose is to help recipients build self-sufficiency.
“Abeokuta has a history of strong and powerful women who excel at commerce, politics, and pretty much everything they choose to do. This is why I decided that my foundation’s very first activity would be to launch a support fund for women drawn from our markets and across our communities.
This fund aims to help women either start small businesses or expand current ones. Small and medium enterprises play a vital role in any economy, and I am excited and proud to be on this journey with them through DERABIF.”
She further clarified that the foundation would broaden its activities to programmes that will impact other demographics, and not only women. The women expressed their appreciation through musical displays of gratitude.
Packaged by Olayinka Agboola