An NGO, Owu Empowerment Foundation, has empowered 100 women with N2 million grant to support their small scale enterprises.
The National Daily reports that the foundation also equipped 50 unemployed youths with information and communications technology (ICT) and driving skills.
Chairman of the foundation, Chief Banji Oyegbami, said these on Friday in Abeokuta while briefing journalists on the empowerment scheme.
According to Oyegbami, the foundation is a community- based association, established by Owu Kingdom in Abeokuta to improve the standard of living of its indigenes.
The Owu high chief disclosed that the women would get N20, 000 each as grant, while the youths would be provided with employment opportunities within and outside the state.
Oyegbami said that the foundation was being funded with donations from notable indigenes of the kingdom, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun and others.
He said that the foundation had been able to raise N22 million through contributions from them.
The chairman said that the beneficiaries were drawn from villages, towns and districts under Owu kingdom in the state.
He further explained that the foundation was a platform for empowering Owu indigenes, stressing that it was committed to equipping youths and women with entrepreneurial skills to alleviate poverty in the state.
“The foundation is a platform where everybody can benefit. We are an intervention agency and we believe in the overall prosperity of Owu indigenes.
“We are equipping 20 youths with ICT skills, while the women will get N20,000 each as grants to support their small scale enterprises.
“These women are not just our daughters but also our wives whom we married from other tribes.
“We are also training 30 youths in driving and this is being done in partnership with Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) and other private driving schools in the state.
“After the training which will last for one month, the beneficiaries will be matched with employees who need their expertise,’’ he said.