The Kaduna State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Rabi Salisu, has disclosed that ₦5 billion has been allocated in the 2025 budget for women’s economic empowerment grants.
She made this known on Wednesday in Katsina at the launch of a two-day North-West governors’ meeting on the Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP) Scale-Up Summit.
According to her, the fund will support the implementation of the Women Economic Empowerment Policy, which was launched in October 2024.
By October 2025, the grant is expected to have been disbursed to 20,850 women across Kaduna State under the empowerment programme.
She added that more than 800 out-of-school adolescent girls have received vocational training, including literacy, numeracy, and starter kits to begin their trades.
She further stated that women have also benefitted from support in modern farming techniques, free fertiliser, education, and maternal and child healthcare services.
The state government continues to drive its economic empowerment agenda by providing capital through Kd-Cares and start-up funds targeted at rural women.
Salihu revealed that about 5,000 women have been trained in digital literacy, artificial intelligence, agriculture, and entrepreneurship under the state’s ongoing skill development programmes.
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She noted that the programme, which is implemented by Data Science Nigeria and Arewa Tech4Ladies, focuses on semi-urban and rural communities in the state.
It provides mentoring, job placement, and tailored training for women in a supportive learning environment.
She said the agricultural revitalisation drive has recorded notable success, particularly in empowering rural women farmers across Kaduna State.
According to her, rural women received 15,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser and benefitted from the ‘A Koma Gona’ and ‘AA Comma’ initiatives.
These initiatives targeted 40,000 women and smallholder farmers in collaboration with the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The government also allocated ₦200 million as seed funding to create jobs for 10,780 women across the state.
“All these women benefitted from last year’s budget. This year’s allocation has increased to further boost women’s empowerment,” she said.
