A partnership between the French Government and Neem Foundation has birthed a 100,000 Euro (N85m) entrepreneurship training project that will benefit two hundred women who are victims of violence in the North West and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

The French Deputy Ambassador in Nigeria, Olivier Chatelais, disclosed this at the launch of the project recently.

The project tagged, “Vocational Training and Entrepreneurship: Empowering women survivors in Sokoto State”, would be executed in collaboration with Neem Foundation.

According to Chatelais, it is to provide empowerment and psychological support to women in the state, who were victims of violence in the North West and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

“The 2018 National Demography and Health Survey in Nigeria, showed that most women and girls experienced some form of sexual violence before they attained age 15. Today, women and girls were more directly affected by poverty, conflict, and climate change than men as they faced difficulties and discrimination in every field”, Chatelais said.

“The current project which is carried out by the NEEM Foundation will aim to directly support women in situations of vulnerability and to support them to access professional training opportunities, by offering them appropriate psychological support.

“One of the keys to the success of this project is professional training. We firmly believe that education and training are powerful tools for the economic empowerment of women.

“But empowerment is not only limited to the economic aspect as we all know, these projects also recognize the importance of psychological support,’’ Chatelais said.

The Executive Director of Neem Foundation, Dr. Fatima Akilu, said the project was not just about empowerment, but to shape the future of women.

Dr. Akuli commended the Embassy of France in Nigeria for the support granted to the foundation to support women through empowerment.

She said that the foundation firmly believed that education and entrepreneurship were powerful tools for economic and social empowerment.

The NEEM Senior Programme Officer, Ms. Minoe Duamwan, presenting the overview of the project, said the pilot phase of the project would begin with two local government areas – Sokoto South and Sokoto North.

Duamwan said the objective was to provide vocational and entrepreneurship training as well as mental health and psychosocial support services to women affected by conflict and GBV in North West Nigeria.

The French Government under the leadership of President Emmanuel Macron, was committed to gender equality and economic emancipation of women in Nigeria and at the world level.

The French Embassy in Nigeria, this focus on gender represents over two million euro in funding for civil society between 2019 and 2023 and we will continue.

NAN