Sahara Group Foundation has launched the Sahara Community Impact Project (SCIP), an initiative targeting the development of specialised business hubs aimed at strengthening local enterprises, boosting community-level productivity and driving long-term economic sustainability.

The programme, which will kick off with a pilot investment of over N100 million, is positioned to support niche businesses across multiple sectors, promote economic empowerment and enable intergenerational transfer of community enterprises.

Speaking during the official launch in Lagos, Director of Sahara Group Foundation, Chidilim Menakaya, said SCIP is designed to identify communities with strong business potential and equip them to build sustainable enterprises that can grow beyond immediate operators.

She noted that the Foundation’s model is built on extrapreneurship, focusing on people who are “extra passionate and extra resilient” in the way they build their businesses and support their communities.

Introducing the project, Menakaya said SCIP will initially focus on strengthening three major community business clusters: fishing communities, cassava-processing groups, and artisans working with water hyacinth. She said the objective is to support business success, promote economic empowerment, reduce waste, improve product quality, introduce modern processing techniques and create financing opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

To achieve this, she outlined a seven-step implementation plan beginning with stakeholder engagement, community sensitisation and a public call for nominations. This will be followed by needs assessments, capacity building, hub establishment, operationalisation and a continuous monitoring and evaluation phase.

According to her, transparency and equitable participation will be at the heart of the initiative. “We have to ensure that there is transparency. We have to ensure there is access for use for everyone within that community and not a selected few,” she said.

The Foundation disclosed that submissions and referrals will officially open in January, while screening and mobilisation will begin in February. Although Nigeria will serve as the pilot phase, the programme is expected to operate across multiple states and extend to other African countries starting from 2027.

Menakaya stressed that long-term monitoring is crucial to ensure sustainability.

“There is no point doing a project and walking away, it will fail. So we will continue to monitor and evaluate how these hubs are being used,” she said.

Also speaking, Head of Corporate Communications at Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, said the initiative aligns with Sahara’s long-term vision to transform communities by building structured business hubs that help local enterprises scale sustainably.