Edo First Lady's Office Empowers Over 300 Women with Micro-Business Grants

The Office of the Edo State First Lady, Edesili Okpebholo, has empowered more than 300 women across the state with micro-business grants aimed at expanding their enterprises, strengthening household incomes, and improving overall family livelihoods.

The gesture was disclosed on Monday in Benin City at an empowerment programme themed "Micro Business Empowerment: Empowering Women, Strengthening Families, Building a Prosperous Edo," organised by the Office of the First Lady.

Speaking at the event, the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, Mrs Edesili Okpebholo, explained that the initiative was specifically designed to provide women, particularly beneficiaries drawn from Edo Central and Edo North senatorial districts, with capital to grow their existing businesses and build sustainable economic opportunities for their families.

According to her, many women across Edo State are already engaged in trading, agriculture, food processing, fashion, catering, and various other micro-enterprises, but require modest financial support to expand their operations and achieve greater economic independence. She said the grants were structured with this specific gap in mind, targeting women whose businesses show potential for growth but who lack access to the capital needed to scale.

Also speaking at the event, Vivian Amoen, Zonal Head of Business for the South-South 1 Zone at LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited, a partner in the initiative, urged beneficiaries to channel the grants directly into their businesses rather than diverting the funds toward material possessions or other unproductive expenses. She further encouraged the women to cultivate a consistent savings culture, placing particular emphasis on saving toward their children's education, which she described as a long-term investment capable of securing lasting financial security for their families.

Beneficiaries who spoke at the event expressed appreciation for the intervention, with several outlining specific plans for how they intended to use the support. Philomena Olonton said the grant would help boost her existing provisions business, while Tina Ehigiator, a beneficiary from Ovia North-East Local Government Area, said she planned to invest her grant into farming activities.

The micro-business grant initiative forms part of a broader push by the Edo State Government under Governor Monday Okpebholo's administration to strengthen women's economic participation across the state. The intervention follows a separate disclosure by the state's Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, which had earlier announced plans to reach 54,000 women with expanded access to micro-finance, entrepreneurship training, and skills development under the administration's broader SHINE Agenda for women's empowerment.

Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Eugenia Abdallah, had separately highlighted other components of the state's women-focused interventions, including the approval of ₦1 billion in soft loans for market women, alongside efforts to ensure greater representation of women within the state's cabinet, with 35 per cent of cabinet positions currently held by women under the Okpebholo administration.

Taken together, the various empowerment initiatives championed by the Office of the First Lady and the state Ministry of Women Affairs reflect a sustained, multi-pronged approach by the Edo State Government toward improving women's access to capital, skills, and economic opportunity. For the more than 300 women reached under this latest round of micro-business grants, the intervention offers direct, immediate support toward expanding businesses that officials say remain central to strengthening household incomes and broader economic resilience across communities in Edo Central and Edo North.