Sunlight, the foremost household brand has restated its commitment to empower and make a significant difference to women entrepreneurs by supporting women-owned businesses in Nigeria. This is in its purpose and in furtherance of its enduring legacy of superior products providing fragrance and cleaning power, to lessen the burden of housework.
In Nigeria, Sunlight runs a programme called Shakti, an initiative whereby women in rural areas are provided products to resell to households in their communities, making a profit and generating income stream for themselves. In addition, the brand has partnered with Leading Ladies Africa, a women-focused non-profit, to recognize women across different business spheres.
Speaking during a brand purpose workshop organized for the media in Lagos recently, the Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, Unilever West Africa, Soromidayo George, said, “the goal of the Sunlight Shakti programme is to help African women achieve financial security and move from low-income to middle-income thereby bolstering their independence.”
Read also: SheVentures offers up to N5m interest-free loans to women entrepreneurs
On his part, the Category Manager, Homecare, OladapoOshuntoye, disclosed that thousands of rural women have already been empowered in Nigeria since the launch of the Shakti programme in 2004 and provided seed capital in the form of Unilever products, business training and funding for women thereby improving the livelihoods of rural areas. He stated that the vision for the Sunlight brand in Africa is to empower 500,000 women across Africa by 2025.
“We are excited to reaffirm our commitment to empowering more women in Nigeria as it truly unifies our efforts to deliver more to Nigerian women, both inside and outside the home” he said.
The Shakti program articulates Sunlight’s work across the African continent, building communities of women entrepreneurs who want to do more and achieve more.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
