FG to launch E-market portal

Kunle Sanni

The federal government has launched the Women E-Market Portal to link up manufacturers, buyers, sellers, and others in the marketing chain to encourage entrepreneurship, skill acquisition, and self-reliance.

The minister of women’s affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye who disclosed this during the launching ceremony which was held in Abuja during the weekend, said the scheme would be in collaboration with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Kennedy-Ohanenye in a statement issues by her spokesperson, Grace Njoku, said that the portal is to serve as a one-stop-shop for marketing as it will provide opportunity to link up donors, manufacturers, buyers, sellers, bankers as well as off takers in all the local government areas, states and regions in the country with relevant information to enable a robust trading process that will bring about accelerated growth and development

She stated that through the portal’s database, the Ministry will identify the areas of group specialisation and distribute industrial machines appropriately to meet up with the needs of the different clusters like sewing, grinding, agriculture and livestock, among others, so as to ease their labour and ensure improved productivity.

Kennedy-Ohanenye explained that the Portal covers a wide range of fields like the Pink Riders, rice and cassava farming, poultry, fishery, goat and cow breeding, etc, which provides ample opportunities for all that have been onboarded to access grants meant for women as their account numbers and other necessary details are being captured on the platform

While explaining that hubs and coordinators will also be provided at different centres to ensure effective storage and collection of finished products to avoid wastages, the Minister stated further that the Ministry is linking up with buyers at the global level through the Portal with a view to ensuring that these products are sold at a good profit margin, to enable members’ earn well, cater for their families and also contribute to the socio-economic development of the nation

She reiterated her call on women at the grassroots as well as urban areas to take advantage of the initiative by forming cooperatives and keying into the scheme  as it was part of efforts by the present administration to give Nigerian families a new lease of life while also  promoting enterprenuership, skill acquisition and self reliance among women in the country.