Women in Okene Local Government Area have been trained to form small savings and support groups known as Women Affinity Groups (WAGs), a move designed to help them build stronger businesses and improve household incomes.
The training was organised under the Nigeria for Women Project Scale-Up Programme and focused on preparing ward facilitators who will now guide women at the community level. These facilitators have been equipped to mobilise women into structured groups where members save money regularly, keep proper financial records, and support one another to start or expand small businesses.
According to the State Project Coordinator, Dr. Esther Ameadaji, the goal is simple and practical. “Women Affinity Groups are about discipline, trust and opportunity. When women save together, plan together and keep transparent records, they create real economic strength for themselves,” she said.
The trained ward facilitators will help women understand the seven core principles guiding WAGs, including regular savings, accountability, proper documentation and collective decision-making. They are also expected to teach basic record-keeping and simple financial management skills so that each group can track contributions, loans and repayments without confusion.
“These facilitators are the bridge between the programme and the grassroots,” Ameadaji explained. “They will ensure that every woman who joins a WAG understands how to save consistently, access small loans within the group and invest in income-generating activities.”
Through the WAG model, women contribute small amounts of money at agreed intervals. The pooled savings can then be loaned to members to support farming, petty trading, food processing and other small-scale enterprises. Because the groups are self-managed and transparent, members build trust and confidence while reducing reliance on informal lenders.
Community leaders in Okene have welcomed the initiative, noting that structured savings groups can help women become more financially stable. A local ward facilitator said, “When women come together to save and support each other, businesses grow faster and families feel the impact almost immediately.”
With trained facilitators now active across wards in Okene, more women are expected to join these savings and support groups, strengthening cooperation, boosting small businesses and creating steady pathways to economic progress.