ECONOMIC SERVICES DEPARTMENT
INTRODUCTION
The Economic Services Department was created to serve as a “one stop shop” for the effective development of fundamental ways of discharging economic initiatives with regards to the growing inequality, poverty and violent displacement of Women, Children, Persons with Disabilities PWDs and the Elderly. This has become necessary in order to meet with empowerment objective; to liberate women and vulnerable groups from abject poverty quickly and reduce gender inequality; to make it easier for the Ministry to seek from its development partners Intervention Funds to execute its empowerment objectives; to facilitate and quicken the dream of Government in meeting the targets of eradicating poverty and unemployment as emphasized in the blueprints of Sustainable Development Goads (SDGs) and Vision 20:2020.
The core objective of Economic Services Department is to coordinate integrated economic services delivery for women and other stakeholders/beneficiaries of the services of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
VISION
To ensure that all grassroots women, PWDs, elderly citizens and the vulnerable in Nigeria are economically empowered for self reliance.
MISSION
To provide training in various skills through established skills acquisition centres; support enterprise development through the provision of credit facilities; promote networking among women entrepreneurs and provide empowerment materials for vulnerable women, PWDs and the elderly citizens; across the 36 States of the federation including the FCT.
STRUCTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT:
The Economic Services Department is divided into two Divisions namely:
- Cooperatives Development Division: Micro Credit and Cooperative Development
- Skills Development Division: Skills Development and Enterprise Development
FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT:
The functions of Economic Services Department cover the overall key areas of economic empowerment of Women, Children, PWDs, Elderly Citizens and other vulnerable groups. These functions include:
- Managing the Ministry’s Micro-credit schemes for women;
- Soliciting assistance, loans and credit from financial institutions for women co-operatives;
- Disseminating information and providing technical support to women cooperatives/associations;
- General Economic empowerment issues;
- Support for Women and Gender in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development;
- Promote establishment of Cottage Industries;
- Promote establishment of Skills Acquisition Centres for Women and Gender;
- Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy, etc.
SPECIAL INTERVENTION PROGRAMME:
- N220 Billion Msmedf by CBN and Financial Inclusion Technical Committee
- National Women Empowerment Fund (NAWEF)
- Collaborations with Development Partners
- Collaboration with UNIDO
- Collaboration with Coffey Nigeria Limited on Gems4 Programme
EXISTING PROJECTS OF THE DEPARTMENT
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development also established the following schemes in Nigeria:
- Women Fund for Economic Empowerment (WOFEE) - A fund for grass-roots women cooperatives in Nigeria
- Business and Development Fund for Women (BUDFOW) – A funding window for women entrepreneurs in Nigeria
- Skills Acquisition Centres for Women Empowerment (SACWE) – Multipurpose Centres for training of Women in various fields – in order for them to generate income; improve living standard and in turn reduce poverty in Nigeria.
- Micro-Credit for Women Entrepreneurs – a Project of ECOWAS Gender Development Centre in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
- The supply of food processing machines/equipment to Women in Agriculture to assist in reducing post harvest losses, ensure preparation and contribute to the achievement of food security at affordable prices, reduce drudgery, time and energy wasted in processing agricultural products.
- Advocacy/Capacity Building Workshop
- Entrepreneurship Development Workshop for Women in the 6 Geo-Political Zones
- Periodically, the Department will conduct monitoring, evaluation and implementation management with stakeholders on all existing projects.
COLLABORATION
The Department is willing to collaborate with organizations from the public and private sectors and other donor Agencies.
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