As part of its commitment to women empowerment and development, Unilever Nigeria Plc has rewarded the 2019 winner of the ‘Sunlight Empowerment Grant’ initiative. The winner, Mrs. Tosin Bamiro of Wembay’s Bakery received N1,000,000 grant to support and grow her bakery and confectionery business.
The initiative which was in partnership with Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) is targeted at supporting and empowering women to excel in their endeavours. Explaining the rationale for the initiative, the Sunlight Brand Manager, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Bilqees Odewale said the initiative could not have come at a better time, particularly now that the federal government is encouraging entrepreneurship as part of the strategies to diversify the Nigerian economy.
“This Empowerment Grant is one of the projects through which the Sunlight brand is fulfilling its purpose of supporting and promoting the socio-economic inclusion of women in Nigeria. The fulfilment of this grant to Mrs. Tosin is a milestone for us as we aim to empower more women in 2020.” Odewale said.
In addition to the presentation of the grant, the Unilever team led by the Brand Manager Sunlight, Bilqees Odewale also trained the workers at the bakery basic safety and quality rules to enable them achieve working in a safe and hygienic environment. In her remark, the Program Officer at WIMBIZ, Sylvia Omenukwa said WIMBIZ, is always ready to partner with organisations like Unilever to advance the course of women’s development in Nigeria.
She expressed her appreciation to Sunlight for coming through on its pledge to empower women entrepreneurs to move their businesses forward in alignment with WIMBIZ mission of empowering women and supporting them to become the best for their families and the society as well. While expressing her appreciation, Bamiro promised to utilise the grant effectively as she also plans to impact the lives of many other women within her community. “I am really grateful to Sunlight and Unilever for this grant.
I plan to purchase a new industrial generator, slicer and other important equipment that we need in the bakery. These items will definitely go a long way in sustaining our business, increase our productivity and ultimately help us to scale our business,” she said. It would be recalled that Sunlight has embarked on several women development initiatives including the N2million grants to two designers to grow their businesses at the Lagos Fashion Week, while also empowering more than 3,000 Shakti Women with Unilever products to serve as start-up capital for their small scale businesses in their local communities.