Felix King’s Foundation lifts 10,000 women with new initiative 

Piqued by the growing poverty rate among widows in the rural communities, the attendant neglect by government, and considering the important role they play in the development of their families and communities, the Governing Board of Felix King Foundation, through the operation of Lift Bank, will help lift 10,000 widows and active poor women in Nigeria’s rural communities within five years.

Lift Bank would help in areas of small business capital access, training, mentorship and network. The initiative, which would be officially launched in May, will focus its operations in Edo, Lagos and Ogun states.

Lift Bank is an added component of Felix King Foundation and will operate under Felix King Rural Initiative in partnership with Lift Bank accredited Community Banks.

The initiative seeks to support widows and active poor women, who are willing to undertake business enterprise such as artisanship, trade and farming.

In a statement, the foundation laments what women have to go through to access as small as N10,000 from local money lenders and the penalty they endure for a day’s default in repayment due to stringent conditions.

“These women are harassed and chased around like common criminals,” it said. “Some abandon their homes to take refuge in the bush just to avoid arrest or confiscation of wares, tools and so on.

Founder, King said, “We will be partnering with community banks/financial outfits for better output and sustainability. The role of community banks is to disburse the capital, supervise the repayment and manage the re-disbursements as well as progress monitoring of beneficiaries. The Lift Bank is a zero free loan access capital for widows and active poor women who are breadwinners of their families. And it is meant to support widows and active rural women in enterprises such as trading, farming, and artisanship.

“Beneficiaries are open to access between N10,000 to N30,000 and repayable in 36 months (three years) without interest. The system is planned as a rotational one, whereby when beneficiaries return what they borrowed, the money will be given to other women.

“Investing in women is vital for the collective economic prosperity and national stability of any country. When we empower women, communities prosper, the nation thrives and peace prevails.

“Therefore, to enhance our community’s security, as well as our national stability and growth, there is need to encourage the full and free participation of women in the national economy. This is the foundation of Lift Bank. Simply put, Lift Bank is prosperity and progress for widows and the forgotten women in rural communities.”

It would be recalled that in 2017/2018, the foundation supported thousands of widows in farming and trading concerns and the progress report from these women, who believe so much in the works of their hand, has become a great example of how strong small businesses are backbone of the economy and communities. Today these women feel dignified and their neighborhoods stronger

Unlike the WIFARM and WEPROGRESS initiatives already promoted by the foundation for widows and financed solely by Dr. King’s companies, Lift Bank will be opened for public collaboration.