The Federal Government, in collaboration with the Ogun State Government, has flagged off a ₦6 billion Community Investment Fund (CIF) to support 5,394 Women Affinity Groups (WAGs) comprising 127,105 women across seven Local Government Areas of the state.
The initiative, implemented under the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU) by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, was flagged off in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
According to a press statement signed by Ahmed Lawan Danbazau, Director, Press and Public Relations, the fund is designed to provide women-led groups with capital to expand businesses, strengthen enterprises, create jobs, increase household incomes and contribute to economic development at the grassroots.
According to the Ministry, the participating Women Affinity Groups currently cover 3,489 communities, while members have collectively saved ₦2.69 billion and disbursed ₦4 billion in loans among themselves.
The Ministry has also trained 368 Ward Facilitators to support the implementation of the programme and strengthen the capacity of women beneficiaries at the community level.
Speaking at the flag-off, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by the Chairman, Governing Council, Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, and Special Assistant, Technical and Community Engagement, Princess Jummai Idonije, commended the Ogun State Government for its sustained commitment to women’s economic empowerment.
The Minister also praised the beneficiaries for demonstrating the impact of collective organisation, disciplined savings, mutual support and enterprise development.
She said the initiative was consistent with the Federal Government’s efforts to promote inclusive economic growth, social protection and women’s empowerment under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to her, women should not remain mere beneficiaries of development interventions but must be enabled to become active participants and drivers of economic transformation.
“Empowering women strengthens families, expands local economies, improves community resilience and contributes directly to national prosperity,” she stated.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim urged beneficiaries to deploy the fund responsibly, maintain transparent financial records and invest productively to expand their businesses, increase incomes and create employment.
She also called on the Ogun State Government and implementing partners to link the Women Affinity Groups to broader opportunities under the Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions–774 (RH-SII 774), particularly in access to finance, markets, digital skills, agriculture and value chains, clean energy and enterprise development.
The Minister acknowledged the contributions of the Ogun State Government, World Bank, NFWP-SU Federal Project Coordinating Unit, community leaders and other implementing partners to the success of the programme.
She reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to deepening 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 sustainable economic opportunities.
The flag-off, the Ministry said, represents a renewed Federal-State partnership aimed at strengthening women’s economic participation, deepening grassroots development and building more resilient families and communities.
