The Saliu Mustapha Foundation, a Kwara-based non-profit organisation, has announced its annual multimillion Naira empowerment programme.
The Director-General of the foundation, Ambali Shuaib Adebayo, disclosed this in a statement issued in Ilorin the Kwara State capital North Central Nigeria.
Adebayo said the annual programme was kick-started ten years ago with the sole purpose of giving back to the community and alleviating poverty.
He said, “It is noteworthy that the foundation is a brainchild of Mallam Saliu Mustapha, a former Chairmanship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and has fronted humanitarian and developmental interventions in different sectors in Kwara state for nearly two decades.
“Through this annual programme, the foundation has supported hundreds of Kwarans to set up businesses, funded scholarships, assisted Small and Medium Scale enterprises amongst others.
“We did not achieve these milestones overnight but with the unflinching support of our amiable Chairman, Mallam Saliu Mustapha, the Turaki of Ilorin Emirates, and consistency in pursuit of impacting the community and alleviating poverty.
“The impact of our interventions could be assessed from the improved livelihood of beneficiaries who are mostly small and medium business owners, especially women and youths.”
He also recalled that in the last fifteen years of the existence of the foundation, it has enrolled over several thousands of indigent students for the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, which is a prerequisite for admissions into tertiary institutions.
“Over the years, the foundation has waxed stronger in its deliverables and commitment to extant aim and objectives.
“It is noteworthy that in the last edition, the foundation empowered over 300 women across the 16 local government areas of the State with a budget of N50million Naira,” he stressed.
Adebayo, however, explained the decision of the foundation to scale up the empowerment sum by an unprecedented margin in this year’s edition.
He said, “Considering the current economic realities and the need to reach out to more people, particularly women and youths in rural communities, the foundation decided to commit a lot larger sum to this year’s edition.
“It is our expectation that this will empower people with business grants, seed capital for startups, foreign scholarships, entrepreneurship training and lots more.”
Speaking on the selection process, the Director-General, therefore, added that the foundation has employed the services of independent bodies who worked with trustees of the organisation to ensure effective implementation of the programme.
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