The International Women Society (IWS) Skills Acquisition Centre, Lekki, Lagos has honoured Polaris Bank with the prestigious ‘Providers & Enablers’ Award in recognition of the Bank’s remarkable commitment and significant contributions to women empowerment, particularly in the area of vocational, skills training and capacity building for women, as undertaken by the IWS .

The award ceremony was held at a special graduation ceremony last Thursday, July 27, 2023, at IWS Skills Centre, Lekki, Lagos. 

Esteemed representatives from various organizations, community leaders, and women who have benefitted from the vocational and skills training programmes were present to celebrate the momentous occasion.

The IWS Centre, renowned for its dedication to uplifting women in the community, showcased a compelling video presentation that highlighted the transformational impact of the collaboration between the Centre and Polaris Bank. Through these skill-building programmes, women from diverse backgrounds have been empowered to pursue their passions, unlock their potential, and become self-reliant contributors to society.

Mr. Kehinde Akinwunmi, the Principal of the IWS Skills Acquisition Centre, Lekki delivered an impassioned speech expressing his gratitude to Polaris Bank for their unyielding support in nurturing the dreams and aspirations of countless women. He also emphasized the pivotal role played by the Bank in providing financial resources and scholarships for 21 students, enabling the Centre to expand its reach and positively impact the lives of even more women.

Responding to the recognition, Polaris Bank’s Head of Sustainability, Mrs. Yemi Akinrelere, who received the award on behalf of the Bank reaffirmed Polaris Bank’s commitment to advancing gender equality and promoting women’s empowerment in line with principle 4 of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principle and as a cornerstone of its Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

“At Polaris Bank, we believe that empowering women is not just a moral imperative, but an essential driver of social progress and economic growth. We are honoured to partner with the International Women Society Skills Acquisition Centre in their noble mission, and we remain committed to supporting women’s advancement and fostering an inclusive and equitable society.”

The collaboration between Polaris Bank and the IWS Skills Acquisition Centre continues to serve as a shining example of how public-private partnerships can catalyze positive change and uplift entire communities. By equipping women with the necessary skills and knowledge, both institutions have empowered many women – young and the not-to-old to seize new opportunities, break barriers, and become agents of change in their respective fields.

One of the landmark contributions of Polaris Bank to the IWS Skills Acquisition Centre was the donation of a multi-million-naira ICT Laboratory for digital and ICT-related capacity building for students of the Centre, amongst other supports.  

Eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030 is a pivotal goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. When achieved, it will have ripple positive and significant impacts on social, political and economic state of the nation.

The United Nations is seriously committed to achieving this through its Millennium Development Goals MDGs and targets.

While MDG 1 seeks to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, MDG 2 centres on universal primary education, MDG 3 seeks to promote gender equality and empower women while MDG 5 and 6 focus on maternal healthcare, malaria and other diseases.

This underscores the importance of the issues which concern not just Nigeria but Africa and the world.

In Nigeria, one of the moving force that is rallying the nation towards achieving the MDG goals is the Hope for Sure Foundation, as championed by the visionary Naomi Olapeju Sigismund.

A licensed broker, social worker, proud daughter of Abeokuta Ogun State, Nigeria and graduate of Business administration from Sheridan College, she also founded the African Canada investment and expo summit.

Through foundation, she has committed resources, network and expertise to significantly empowering women and children in many ways and via multiple initiatives.

Speaking about her passion in a media chat, she said, “Our mission is to improve the quality of life, offer relief from poverty through empowerment and advancement of education amongst youths.”

“Our foundation holds medical outreach twice yearly since 2015 to impact the lives of both young and old in the communities. We gave out 1000 free reading glasses in free treatment for over 3,000 people through our team of doctors in Nigeria.

“We empowered over 5,000 youth and women, fed over 3,000 children, and provided medically support for over
10,000 elderly men and women. We also assist HIV patients and victims of human trafficking,” she added.

Business Empowerment

Naomi Olapeju has provided platforms to support entrepreneurship building and empowerment for women and girls. She is known to be hardworking, dependable, reliable, diligent, versatile and an innovative humanitarian and philanthropist who has facilitated a cordial relationship between Canada and Nigeria with investment in humanity through international charity engagement.

In recognition and acknowledgment of her outstanding support towards societal development and progress, she’s a recipient of many award categories.

Hope for sure foundation was birthed out of her passion for humanity: giving hope to the hopeless, putting smiles on the aged, helping the rejected to feel loved, supporting the widows to be who they want to be regardless of how society has painted them due to the circumstances they found themselves, and helping youth to and their
purpose in life, picking the youth from the street and empowering them and lots more.

Her passion for service to humanity has taken her to different regions in Canada, different states in Nigeria and other countries freely giving back to humanity in her capacity.

Skill Acquisition
Through our program, many are helped to actualize their dreams by aiding the
underprivileged to obtain work with public or private organisations through academic certificates, providing a source of income, and enabling them to become positive contributors to the community.

Youth Empowerment

The foundation provides free development program aimed at creating opportunities that will encourage and develop the youths to be morally responsible, self-reliant and financially productive citizens.

Because youths will be the future of our country and there is a need to motivate them to do something for the development of themselves and the country.

Girl Child Education

The foundation offers education support to girls. This is borne out of our understanding that girl Child education, across the global, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia, remains key.

The marginalization of girls’ education is linked to religious and cultural practices. Poverty, poor infrastructure, violence, and fragility are other contributing factors inhibiting girls’ education. Similarly, child marriage is also a critical challenge facing girls all over the world.

According to UNESCO recent report, more than 41,000 girls under the age of 18 marry every day. A child birthing child is a disaster already happening. According to UNESCO estimates, around the world, 129 million
girls are out of school, including 32 million of primary school age, and 97 million of secondary school age. It has been observed in some climes that educated women
contribute to rapid socio -economic development.

Education gives women a disposition for a lifelong acquisition of knowledge, values, attitudes, competence, confidence, independence, and skills.

Thirty-two women from Ikorodu have joined the 250 beneficiaries of Nestlé Nigeria’s Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project through which Nestlé is helping rural women in Nigeria build financial security to improve their standard of living.

This is achieved through training, mentorship, and grants in form of 
Nestlé products. Beneficiaries of the program are female retailers in Nestlé Nigeria’s value chain. 
Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria aims to help beneficiaries scale up their businesses and sustain the new level of up to three times the size of their existing businesses. Each beneficiary receives grants valued at 300% of their monthly sales in form of Nestlé products, business training and a 3-month 
mentorship program. Each beneficiary is linked to a mentor for one-on-one coaching over the three months, to ensure their success. 
At the induction of the thirty-two new beneficiaries in Ikorodu recently, Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan said, “We are pleased with the success of the 250 beneficiaries of Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in 
Nigeria and are delighted by the opportunity to include 32 more today. With this addition, 282 women across five geopolitical zones of Nigeria now have a unique 
opportunity to scale up their businesses by 300%. We are confident that the new beneficiaries will also transform their businesses, making the best use of the support Nestlé is providing through training, mentorship and grants in form of 
Nestlé products.”

Mr. Phranklin Audu, Head, Partnerships & Training at FDConsults, implementation 
partner of Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project said, “As an NGO focused on empowering people to improve their livelihoods, we are thrilled by the impact of this project on rural communities. Over 80% of the beneficiaries have 
seen their incomes grow and can support their families better. 
One of them is Blessing Abayi, a single mother from Bauchi. Blessing used to struggle with paying her children’s school fees, but after three months in the program, she told us that for the first time, she paid the fees in full and on time, thanks to her growing business. We are inspired by her story and others like it.”

FDConsults is an NGO with a record of equipping businesspeople in rural areas with the information and skills they need to increase their household income and improve their standards of living.

The inclusion in Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria was well received by the beneficiaries in Ikorodu. One of them, Mrs. Olubunmi Adeoye, expressed her   gratitude to Nestlé for the opportunity to be part of the project.

“I am so happy that Nestlé chose me to benefit from this program. It is a wonderful opportunity,” 
she said. Another beneficiary, Mrs. Bukola Ajala, praised Nestlé for the 
empowerment and the free goods they provided, saying, “I have not seen any empowerment like this before. I know I am going to the next level.”
Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project began in August 2021, with 50 female retailers from the suburbs of Abuja. The program has expanded to include more women from the South-East, North-East, South-South, and SouthWest, including Lagos. Over 80% of beneficiaries have reported an increase of 100% to 200% in their business growth within three months of joining the
program.

The best performing beneficiary, Mrs. Oghenetega Delight Jombo, of Jombo Stores, Port Harcourt, reached a business growth of 675% within 6 months of joining the program, and has sustained a monthly turnover of over N547,623.67 since.

Nestlé’s Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Victoria
Uwadoka, reiterates the company’s commitment to building thriving
communities by improving household incomes. Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project is one of the ways through which Nestlé Nigeria is
Creating Shared Value along her value chain.