The Nation Newspaper

Tag: GEMS

  • Fed Govt, GEMS partner on empowering women

    Fed Govt, GEMS partner on empowering women

    The ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in partnership with Growth and Employment in States, GEMS 3 is set to empower women across the country by developing and supporting thousands of women especially in rural areas with access to market and finance.

    The GEMS 3 is planned to be implemented in seven states of the federation. They are Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Ebonyi, Abia, Niger and Kaduna states. They will serve as the launching platform for the pilot scheme.

    The Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar said it is imperative for women to reach their potential and be critical elements for the attainment of inclusive growth and sustainable development.

    The minister who spoke at the launch of the Women in Investment and Enterprise (WINIE) project in Abuja, added that this is to provide a platform for the aspiration of next generation of women and girls.

    She said: “Women own about 30 per cent of the registered small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and the average growth rate of these businesses is far lower than businesses run by men. Female entrepreneurs account for 43.22per cent in the ownership structure of microenterprises as against 22.76 per cent in SMEs and only about 10 per cent havecaccess to the finance needed.

    “This 10 per cent is to assist them launch a new venture or grow their existing businesses, most women obtain their initial startup investment and working capital from internal sources such as savings and contributions from family and friends.

    “This restricts them from being ambitious about their enterprise and seeking advice from business support providers for proper legal and corporate structures. The government is consciously making effort to diversify the economy from being majorly dependent on oil.

    “Government’s policy direction is strategically being geared towards creating wealth and employment through the facilitation of an enabling environment for SMEs to thrive in Nigeria.

  • Firms sign MoU

    Firms sign MoU

    Afirm Primlaks has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GEMS 4 and Fortis Microfinance Bank to create wealth for some indigent women in eight states.

    The deal is expected to impact the lives of 63,000 women entrepreneurs at the grassroots in Kubwa, Maraba, Kuje, Kabusa, Gwagwalada and Abaji, all in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The Executive Consulting Adviser to Primlaks Group, Piyush Nair, said the partnership would create more women entrepreneurs who would reshape their circumstances by leveraging available opportunities.

    “Our partnership will create an avenue to wealth for indigent business women, especially because it provides direct manufacturer-distributor interface as well as distributor-financier alignment,” he said, adding that the cooperative scheme would enable women at the grassroots to access Primlaks’ products.

    To start the scheme, Nair said the women will be offered the company’s solar lanterns, which comes in three models.

    “In practical terms, this translates to better pricing, instalment payments, access to soft loans, pooling of resources through a cooperative system and training on sales techniques,” he said, stressing, he said.

     

     

     

    “The partnership will provide a platform for women, especially at the grassroots, to enjoy a better life and contribute towards building their homes and families.”

    Also at the event, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Primlaks, Mr. Ravi Hemnani said, “The participation of Primlaks in this women empowerment project is in line with our social objective of a positive return to society.

    “We are focused on Food, Shelter and Light; essentials for better living and see many opportunities to partner with Fortis, FMTI, DFID- GEMS 4 to educate, train and create jobs for women across Nigeria.”

    The Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Micro Finance Bank, Mr. KunleOketikun, said the Bank’s micro credit scheme was established because research had shown that the capacity of women to succeed economically was constrained by inadequate access to funds.

    “We are here today because of our belief in the need to increase the access of our women to finance,” he said.

    Leader of the Economic Growth Team in the Department for International Development (DFID), Mr Simeon Kenny, said: “There is need to invest more in women and that is why government and private corporations need to work together to this effect”

    Team Leader of GEMS 4, Mr. Christopher Shyers reiterated the project’s continuing support of small and medium enterprises, saying: “GEMS 4 seeks to improve income and employment opportunities within Nigeria’s wholesale and retail sector, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable.”

    The signing of the MoU was part of activities to mark the Fortis MFB Women Fair, tagged “Celebrating the Entrepreneurial Spirit of the Nigerian Woman.”

  • GEMS, LAWMA liaise on C & D waste control

    A construction cum real estate company, Growth and Employment in States (GEMS), has liaised with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) on a policy framework for construction and demolition debris waste for Lagos State.

    The policy framework according to Thomas Robert, an international CDWM policy consultant, entails policies on how to recycle and reuse construction and demolition waste in order to protect human health and prevent ecological hazards.

    He added that it also include C &D prohibition disposal, source separation minimum requirements, permission of demolition, deconstruction of requirements, demolition requirements, C & D facilities, public awareness on penalties for non-compliance and illegal disposal of C & D among others.

    Roberts said the policy provides the basis for the development of laws and regulations to guide proper construction and demolition waste disposal.

    He noted that in implementing the policy, LAWMA, private sectors, states and federal government has a key role to play in it. He added that the process of source separation and recycling will go a long way in increasing employment opportunities.

     

    The Managing Director of LAWMA, Mr. Ola Oresanya, while acknowledging the policy noted that the primary focus should be on reuse for the optical and market development for products and not recycling.

     

  • Global study discovers solution to diarrhoea

    The Global Enteric Multicentre Study (GEMS), coordinated by the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development, has confirmed rotavirus – for which a vaccine already exists – as the leading cause of diarrheal diseases among infants. It equally, identified other top causes for which additional research is urgently needed.

    GEMS found that approximately one in five children under the age of two suffer from moderate-to-severe diarrhea (MSD) each year, which increased children’s risk of death 8.5-fold and led to stunted growth over a two-month follow-up period.

    The international study published in The Lancet provided the clearest picture yet of the impact and most common causes of diarrheal diseases, the second leading killer of young children globally, after pneumonia. Diarrheal diseases claim 800, 000 children annually.

    The Global Enteric Multicentre Study (GEMS) is the largest study ever conducted on diarrheal diseases in developing countries, enrolling more than 20,000 children from seven sites across Asia and Africa.

    “Until now, comprehensive data on the burden of diarrheal diseases in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa has been limited,” said Dr. Myron M. Levine, GEMS Principal Investigator and Professor at the University of Maryland School Of Medicine. “By filling critical gaps in knowledge, we hope GEMS will help countries across these two highest-burden regions focus their efforts to improve child health.”

    Despite many causes, GEMS found that targeting just four pathogens could prevent the majority of MSD cases. Expanding access to vaccines for rotavirus, the leading cause of MSD among infants at every site, could save hundreds of thousands of lives.