GEEP boss kicks off tenure with strategic visits to enhance collaborations

By Kunle Sanni

The newly appointed National Programme Manager of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Hamza Baba, has hit the ground running with a series of high-level engagements aimed at strengthening partnerships to empower vulnerable Nigerians.

On Tuesday, Mr. Baba paid courtesy visits to key government stakeholders, including the Honourable Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaibe Said, and the Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), H.E. Silas Agara. 

The visits focused on exploring collaborative efforts to enhance the reach of GEEP initiatives, especially the TraderMoni scheme, which supports grassroots women and vulnerable groups. 

Both officials praised Mr. Baba’s proactive approach and expressed optimism about the positive impact these partnerships could have on Nigeria’s socio-economic landscape.

Continuing the momentum, on Thursday, June 5, Mr. Baba convened a strategic meeting with Mr. Trond Jensen, the Representative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) in Nigeria. The dialogue centered on identifying ways to collaborate in extending support to vulnerable communities nationwide.

During the meeting, Mr. Jensen highlighted UN-OCHA’s critical role in coordinating humanitarian responses, while Mr. Baba outlined GEEP’s mission under the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) to promote financial inclusion and empower underserved populations such as petty traders, artisans, youth, and smallholder farmers through microcredit initiatives like TraderMoni, MarketMoni, and FarmerMoni.

Mr. Baba also announced the forthcoming launch of the Renewed Hope GEEP 3.0 initiative, scheduled for July, which aims to broaden the program’s impact through improved transparency and decentralized implementation.

Key areas of potential cooperation identified include funding support to scale up GEEP’s reach, capacity building for program staff, joint community outreach efforts, and technical assistance to leverage innovation for better service delivery.

Both Mr. Baba and Mr. Jensen expressed enthusiasm about future engagements and committed to developing a formal collaboration framework that aligns with Nigeria’s national development and humanitarian goals.