1,000 traders receive customised tables from Akwa Ibom business community

1000 traders have received customised tables from the Akwa Ibom business community as part of efforts to boost small businesses in the state.

Helen Obareki, Governor Umo Eno’s daughter who kick-started the distribution of the 1,000 customised tables and umbrellas to traders across the state.

​The empowerment initiative, fully sponsored by the Akwa Ibom State Business Community, marks a significant scale-up of the marketplace interventions originally championed by Patience Umo Eno, who had launched branded aprons for market women in 2024 before her passing

​Speaking at the event, Obareki, who is also the coordinator of the first lady, reflected on her mother’s deep empathy for the retail driving force of the state.

​”Today’s event is incredibly special, not just because of the items to be distributed, but because it represents the fulfilment of a sacred vision.

“This noble initiative was first endorsed in 2024 by my beloved mother, Patience Umo Eno. She carried the welfare of market women close to her heart, and today, we are here to ensure that her beautiful legacy of love, care, and grassroots economic empowerment lives on vividly,” she stated.

She launched the distribution of aprons to give identity, structure, and a sense of pride to our mothers and sisters in the marketplace,” Obareki recalled.

Obareki, who was represented by Glory Edet, a former member of the state executive council, described market women as the “economic engines” and heartbeat of Akwa Ibom communities, acknowledging their invaluable contributions to the state’s economy.

She reiterated the commitment of the office of the First Lady in sustaining Patience Umo Eno’s legacy of compassion and economic inclusion.

“As a complementary pillar of support, the Patience Umo Eno Golden Initiative for All (GIFA) is proudly partnering in today’s exercise.

“To ensure you trade with dignity and absolute comfort, GIFA is providing specially designed, high-quality GIFA-branded market aprons for our women.

“These aprons … are practical tools of trade. They have been tailored to help you shield your daily sales, protect your petty cash from sticky fingers, and keep your business records intact while you attend to your customers.

“We want your hard-earned wealth protected by these aprons!”

She noted that the intervention by the Akwa Ibom Business Community aligned with the agricultural and food security goals of Governor Umo Eno, under the ARISE Agenda’s subsidising of farm inputs and boosting local food production, emphasising that traders serve as the critical “bridge” between the harvest in the villages and food consumed in various homes.

She commended the leadership of the Akwa Ibom State Business Community for their robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) footprint in bringing the project to fruition, encouraging the beneficiaries to utilise the tables, umbrellas and aprons as tools for expanding their businesses, and increasing daily sales.

The President General of the Akwa Ibom Business Community, Lordswill Umani, said the initiative was borne out of the desire to make a meaningful impact in the marketplace by creating opportunities for women entrepreneurs and strengthening the role of the private sector in the state’s economic development.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Akwa Ibom Business Community, Akpan Ekpo, stated that the business community is a key component of the ARISE Agenda, emphasizing that the private sector remains the fastest driver of economic growth.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Deputy Chairperson of the Women Wing of the Akwa Ibom Business Community, Mary Esara, called for improved access to finance and business empowerment programmes, increased capacity building, expanded market access, greater business visibility, stronger strategic collaborations and enhanced representation of women in public policy and governance.

A significant feature of the ceremony was the symbolic presentation of the tables, umbrellas and Aprons to beneficiaries from Uyo Local Government Area, by Helen Obareki’s representative, assisted by the other women in the delegation from the office of the First Lady – the Special Adviser, Bureau of Cooperative and Rural Development, Alice Ekpenyong; the wife of the member representing Mkpat Enin State Constituency, Comfort Imoh Ita; and the wife of the chairman of Etim Ekpo, Unyime Uwah.

They later inspected the exhibition stands mounted by the women at the event.