By Genesis Ogiri, Abuja
In a significant gesture of grassroots empowerment and community development, philanthropist and humanitarian advocate, Ambassador Cleo Nelson-Adoga, has launched a soft grants intervention programme for market women at Nyanya Market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), aimed at strengthening small-scale trading and improving household economic stability.
The initiative, implemented under the Rise and Thrive Humanitarian Foundation, attracted a large gathering of traders, community leaders, and beneficiaries, who described the programme as a timely intervention amid rising economic pressures affecting informal sector operators across the FCT.
The outreach which coincided with her birthday anniversary on May 9, 2026, transformed the celebration into a platform of impact-driven social intervention, deliberately focused on uplifting market women and vulnerable small-scale traders within the Nyanya community.
Speaking during the empowerment exercise, Cleo Nelson-Adoga reaffirmed her commitment to supporting vulnerable women in business, noting that market women remain a critical pillar of local commerce and family sustenance. She emphasized that the intervention was designed to provide not just financial relief, but sustainable business support capable of generating long-term economic growth.
Under the programme, selected beneficiaries comprising vegetable traders, foodstuff dealers, and small-scale food vendors received financial grants of Four Hundred Thousand Naira (₦400,000) each, designed to serve as immediate capital injection into their trading activities for business expansion and improved financial stability.
In addition to the major grants, over 25 other beneficiaries also received cash support of Fifty Thousand Naira each, further extending the reach of the initiative to a wider category of vulnerable women within the informal market sector.
The dual-tier empowerment structure was widely commended by stakeholders for its inclusiveness, ensuring that both established traders and smaller-scale operators benefitted from the intervention. Many beneficiaries expressed deep appreciation, describing the grants as a lifeline that would help stabilize their businesses, replenish stock, and improve daily income generation.
Several market leaders at Nyanya Market praised the initiative as a model of impactful philanthropy, calling on other private individuals, corporate organizations, and development partners to emulate similar grassroots-driven empowerment programmes that directly target the informal economy.
Community representatives also highlighted the broader significance of the programme, noting that empowering women traders contributes directly to family welfare, education support, and community stability, given the central role women play in household financial management.
The event concluded with renewed commitments from Cleo Nelson-Adoga to expand the empowerment initiative to other markets across the FCT, as part of a broader vision to promote economic resilience, financial inclusion, and sustainable livelihood support for women at the grassroots level.