Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday flagged off the disbursement of the Community Investment Fund under the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up in Katsina State, with more than 40,000 women set to benefit from business capital.
The intervention is aimed at expanding businesses, increasing household incomes and strengthening economic resilience among women in the state.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony held at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina, Shettima described the initiative as a strategic investment in women’s enterprise, productivity and economic potential.
“Over 40,000 women in Katsina State stand to receive business capital, having fulfilled the prescribed eligibility conditions and demonstrated satisfactory performance in their savings and group activities,” he said.
The Vice President commended Governor Dikko Radda for prioritising women and vulnerable households in his administration’s development agenda, urging beneficiaries to invest the funds wisely, keep proper financial records and sustain their savings culture.
He also called on programme managers to ensure transparency, fairness and accountability in the disbursement process.
Governor Radda described women’s economic empowerment as a key pillar of his administration’s Building Your Future Agenda, saying investment in women would strengthen families, communities and the state’s economy.
The governor said Katsina provided counterpart funding for the World Bank-supported programme, enabling its expansion from six Local Government Areas to all 34 LGAs in the state.
He explained that the Community Investment Fund would complement women’s savings and provide additional capital for establishing and expanding businesses.
“Today’s flag-off marks the commencement of the disbursement process; it is not the conclusion of the process,” Radda said, assuring eligible Women Affinity Groups yet to receive their grants that disbursement would continue in phases.
The World Bank representative, Matthew Verghis, said the $540m Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up was being implemented across 32 states, targeting five million women directly and supporting an estimated 4.5 million jobs.
Verghis said women participating in the programme had mobilised more than ₦20bn in savings, while noting that closing gender gaps in agriculture, self-employment and wage employment could add an estimated $22.9bn, equivalent to 5.8 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Aisha Malumfashi, said more than 2,393 Women Affinity Groups had been established in Katsina and Daura LGAs, with the groups collectively mobilising over ₦310m in savings.
She urged beneficiaries to use the funds responsibly to expand their businesses and improve the welfare of their families and communities.
After the ceremony, Shettima commissioned three road projects executed by the Katsina State Government and inaugurated 30 CNG hybrid buses and 200 Phase I electric tricycles as part of efforts to improve transportation and promote cleaner energy in the state.