The MTN Foundation and UN Women have entered a partnership aimed at strengthening the economic participation of rural women and widening their access to business opportunities in Nigeria.

The collaboration was formally announced on Friday in Lagos during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations.

Under the programme, 200 rural female entrepreneurs in Kano and Cross River states will receive support covering skills development, financial inclusion, market access and processing hubs.

Y’elloPreneur to drive support for 200 women

MTN Foundation Executive Director, Dr. Odunayo Sanya, said women currently represent 43.7 per cent of the foundation’s beneficiaries, reflecting its focus on gender inclusion across its programmes.

She said the new partnership would be implemented through the Y’elloPreneur initiative, which is designed to tackle challenges that restrict the growth of female-owned businesses.

Among the challenges identified are insufficient access to training, funding and markets.

Sanya disclosed that MTN Foundation had previously supported 122 women entrepreneurs with N304 million, while the wider Y’elloPreneur initiative has strengthened the capacity of more than 6,000 female entrepreneurs.

The new beneficiaries will receive entrepreneurship training at the Enterprise Development Centre. Following the training, they will prepare business proposals and have opportunities to secure funding for viable enterprises.

Sanya also disclosed that the foundation is targeting equal participation of men and women in the Y’elloPreneur initiative, with an objective of reaching 50 per cent male and 50 per cent female participation by 2030.

UN Women highlights digital opportunities

UN Women Country Representative, Beatrice Eyong, said the partnership would provide rural women with greater opportunities to benefit from digital tools and become more active participants in Nigeria’s expanding digital economy.

She warned that inadequate access to digital opportunities could continue to leave rural women excluded from emerging areas of economic activity.

Why Kano and Cross River were selected

Kano and Cross River states were chosen for the programme because of their strong agricultural activities, particularly in rice and cassava production.

Through the partnership, women operating within these sectors are expected to receive support that can help them improve value addition, productivity and livelihoods.

The initiative underscores the role of digital inclusion, access to finance and entrepreneurship support in helping rural women establish sustainable businesses and participate more meaningfully in Nigeria’s economy.

Source: MSME Africa