What New Shea Butter Processing Facility Will Mean For Women Empowerment

Anyone that is remotely serious about self-care will understand the extensive advantages of having Shea butter laying somewhere around the house. That is why the new Shea Butter Processing Facility that has just been launched in Tede community, Oyo State, is a huge win for both the manufacturers, retailers, consumers and the community at large.

Oyo state is known all over Nigeria as a major Shea butter producing state, and its processors are mainly women — middle-aged, married, and with no formal education. A project like the Climate Smart Shea Processing facility funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation and implemented by The Initiative for Gender Empowerment and Creativity (IGEC) will go a long way to ensure financial inclusion, employment opportunities within the production ecosystem and also the smooth production of a natural hair/skincare product that is native to Nigerians, thus boosting economic growth.

The Climate Smart Shea Processing project is one of the eight initiatives approved for grants by the Coca-Cola Foundation in March 2021. The grant is one of the ways through which the Coca-Cola System is staying committed to its promise of enhancing communities and improving economic opportunities for Nigerian communities especially rural women and youths.

With a focus on poverty alleviation through economic empowerment in less privileged communities, the Initiative for Gender Empowerment and Creativity (IGEC) is committed to a vision of equal opportunities and empowerment for Nigerian women and youths.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, which was well attended by Government Officials and dignitaries from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nigeria Export Promotion Council and other regulatory agencies, the visibly elated Program Director and Visioner of the Climate Smart Shea Processing Project, Mrs Olasumbo Adeleke said,

“The dream to provide support to women all over Nigeria, who make a living through trading in the Shea butter value chain, has been a long time coming. After series of applications to various potential partners, we finally found a believing partner in the Coca-Cola Foundation, through whose support, we are able, finally to make a difference in the lives of our women. This is just the beginning!”