- NB Empowers 100 Artisans With N30m
A total of 100 artisans have been rewarded with a grant of N300,000 each to be invested in their businesses, under an empowerment programme tagged “ISEDOWO” for youths from the Southwest.
The 100 beneficiaries are the first batch of youths that will benefit from the N30 million Community Partnership Scheme by Goldberg, produced by Nigerian Breweries Plc.
At the unveiling of the empowerment programme in the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi- Ojaja II, NB Plc’s Marketing Director, Franco Maria Maggi, said ISEDOWO was designed to equip young Yoruba men and women with the support they need to grow their businesses.
Describing the initiative as historic, Maggi said Goldberg, which is Nigeria’s number one culture-centric beer brand, was extending its connection points beyond culture and tradition to support entrepreneurs from the South-West region.
Besides, he said the event took place in the palace of the Ife monarch, a revered traditional ruler, who is a leading example in the call for empowerment of Nigerian youths.
“We believe that the choice of your palace for the unveiling is a mutually benefiting union between your majesty and a beer brand that not only respects the values and traditions of your people, but also seeks to empower the young men and women in the region,” he said,
Maggi said the company believes that as the custodian of Yoruba culture, the Ooni’s blessings will rub off positively on the campaign and set it on the path of achieving its objective of positively transforming the lives of its beneficiaries.
He noted this will have spillover effects on the larger economy while also increasing income and creating jobs.
Explaining the selection criteria, Maggi said interested participants were required to showcase their business ideas and how it impacts the society in order to benefit from the empowerment scheme.
He said participants went through a selection and screening process across the South-West after which the top 100 participants were rewarded with a grant of N300, 000 each.
Maggi said the launch of the programme was the latest of the brand’s efforts to help the youths achieve their potential.
