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Sustainable Resilience

800 SMEs and Cooperatives supported through entrepreneurial trainings and start-up grants

By UNDP NIGERIA

September 22^nd, 2022

Empowering members of communities affected by conflict not only breaks the cycle of poverty but eventually builds thriving livelihoods that are sustainable and self-sufficient. These communities not only have the power to make decisions that sustain their households through new acquired skills but they yield huge benefits for themselves and the society at large.

Through the “Social stability and security of the conflict-affected communities in North-East and Middle Belt of Nigeria Project”, 800 Beneficiaries comprising of Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) and Cooperatives were trained on business plan and monetary management to help them create an effective strategy to scale up community-based businesses and ensure effective utilization of start-up grants.

Patience Nenge, a 45-year-old fish seller, used to live in Tombu, a farming community close to Mbaya village in Benue State with her husband and five children. They were forced to leave due to the Farmer-Herder crisis. “The herders came one day and destroyed our village. They burnt down our houses and killed a lot of people. Luckily, some of us were able to escape. But when we moved to Mbaya, life was difficult for us. We did not have enough money” she explains.

The Middle-Belt and Northeast Nigeria have been experiencing Farmer-Herder conflict frequently in the last decade contributing to the growing insecurity that has forced millions of people to live in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps across different states in the region.

When the entrepreneurial skills training organized by UNDP started, Nenge was among those selected. Through the training and cash grant she received, she was able to invest in her business and open a shop. “Thanks to my business, I have been able to pay my children’s school fees. My business has allowed me to care for my family, ever since my husband developed heart problems and was unable to work anymore.”

Ngudoon Anjenka, a fertilizer seller narrates that the training helped her learn cash management and create a savings culture. For her this change of mindset has been crucial in the development of sound monetary management. “I no longer use my capital to solve my problems. I use the profit I make from my sales to take care of my family.”

Ngudoon became the breadwinner of her family after her husband passed away in 2018. With the knowledge and cash grant she received from the programme, she has been able to expand her business while supporting her four children and extended family.

A farmer of staple foods (yam, maize and cassava), life has never been a bed of roses for 40-year-old Dura Terver who lost his wife when the Farmer-Herder conflict affected his village. During this period, Dura lived from hand to mouth and often struggled to pay his children’s school fees. Dura explains that the skills programme has impacted his life positively. “I was able to use the cash grant to buy staple food in large quantity. I learned not to use my capital to offset my bills. Now I only use my profits to solve my financial problems.”

Excited about what she had learned from the skills acquisition sessions, Mercy Terkimbi, a Cassava and Guinea Corn seller in Mbaya, narrates that “I used to buy goods on credit but the cash I received enabled me to invest in my business and I have since stopped buying goods on credit.” Mercy and her family relocated to Mbaya community due to the Farmer-Herder conflict. She had to become the breadwinner of her family after her husband developed a stroke. As the first child of her parents, she also supports her extended family. Mercy says through these trainings, she has been able to make better money decisions and make improvements to her home, particularly the leaky roof that needed repairs.

The story is not different for Abreek Fanen, who sells fertilizers. “I was able to learn cash management and now buy fertilizers in large quantity.” Since Abreek participated in the training, his sales have increased by around 50 percent compared to previous years. Now, he purchases fertilizer in bulk to sell to local farmers. "Sales are increasing,” he says. "My family and I are quite proud of my fertilizer business. We are making more money and have greater optimism for the future."

Vealumun, is 42 years old, her family were dealt a huge blow when her husband was diagnosed with a heart problem a few years ago. “He was the backbone of the family and we experienced difficulties,” she said. “The Doctor told him to stop doing any work. That meant I had to do all the work” she said, referring to herself as the breadwinner. “While this empowerment programme will not solve all of my problems, it has had an important impact on my role as a decision maker in my household,” She added.

The UNDP supported trainings is made possible in partnership with the Benue and Nasarawa States Governments and funded by the Government of Japan in collaboration with community-based organizations – Women in Humanitarian response in Nigeria Initiative WIHRINI and Child Education and Community Initiative (CECDI) and is aimed at the revival of economic and livelihood opportunities in communities affected by conflict in the Northeast and Middle belt of Nigeria.