The Jennifer Etuh Foundation has trained 1,000 women across Zaria and Makarfi Local Government Areas of Kaduna State under the Kaduna Women Economic Empowerment Project, with a commitment to expand into additional LGAs in 2026 as part of efforts to strengthen household livelihoods and promote women-led micro-enterprises, Arewa PUNCH reports. The Programme Manager of the Foundation, Mr Joseph Otu, disclosed this on Tuesday during the official close-out ceremony of the 2025 implementation cycle held in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Otu explained that the initiative, which commenced in January 2024, is funded by the Bayer Foundation and implemented by a consortium of partners working to boost women's productivity, increase family income and reduce economic vulnerability in rural communities. "We are working closely in partnership with several organisations under the Kaduna Women Economic Empowerment Project. We started in 2024 with sponsorship from the Bayer Foundation. This is our third implementation location after Kaura and Jema'a LGAs, and now Zaria and Makarfi," he said.
According to the Program Manager, the Foundation adopted a dual-beneficiary household model whereby one woman in a family is trained in Vertical Sack Farming while another family member is enrolled on vocational skills training. "If we pick a woman, say Nafisa, for sack farming, we also pick her sister or daughter, maybe Amina, for a skill. By the time they return home, one has a farming skill, and the other has a vocational skill. What that means is increased household income and economic stability," Otu explained.
Source: punchng.com
