Liberia: VP Taylor Launches LD$16.5M Empowerment Scheme for Rural Women In Bong

Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor has launched a LD$16.5 million rural empowerment scheme in Bong County, Liberia, aimed at supporting women in business. The initiative, made possible through President George W. Bush's commitment to women's empowerment, demonstrates the government’s dedication to providing business opportunities and improving livelihoods.

Unlike previous projects funded by international donors, this scheme is financed through the government’s own budget. VP Taylor emphasized that the funds are meant for empowerment and do not need to be repaid.

She   that during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, similar projects were launched in Bong County, with funding mainly coming from international donor institutions, unlike the present situation, where the government is sourcing the funding through its own budget. “As a feminist in chief, he will continue to provide better services for women.”

The program, which will be under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce, is an annual event, and those who are receiving the funding should be able to make good use of the money to make their businesses profitable so that others will also benefit.

“The loan is not to be repaid, it is meant for the empowerment of the women to enhance their livelihoods.

“So we want to beg you that we have received hundreds of entries across the county; we are dealing with a county with the third largest population, and you are the first ones to benefit, and more is expected so that others will benefit. The first group of people will make use of it and put the money back, and other people will also benefit from it.

She encouraged beneficiaries to use the money wisely to make their businesses profitable and create a positive impact in their communities. 

“We have to help ourselves because all the free money that came under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is all gone. They were paying doctors, teachers, and other government workers, but because of our time, we have to look for the money ourselves now.

She also told the beneficiaries that “money is not political money that other people will want to insinuate but money to establish you and grow your business so that you can be able to take care of your family and be in business continuously.”

She thanked the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Madam Marwinne Diggs, who was represented by Deputy Minister Wilfred Bangura, for her patience and tireless efforts to reach the stage of taking the initiative, especially with the tedious documentation of the application process the applicants went through.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, represented by Deputy Minister Wilfred Bangura, expressed excitement about the initiative, urging beneficiaries to take full advantage of the opportunity and strive to bridge the gap between rural and urban women.

The LD$16.5 million scheme will be distributed among 18 qualified groups, representing a variety of sectors and communities within Bong County.

Bangura urged the beneficiaries to take full advantage of the scheme and see it as a great leap to the several other empowerment projects aimed at bringing rural women on par with their urban counterparts.

He said the full amount of the scheme is LD$16.5 million for 18 groups that qualified after passing through a series of screening, saying he was excited that “in this gathering there are women from the barracks, from the villages, towns and every sector who are desirous of being entrepreneurs.”

“We hope that these funds will be managed properly so that we will be able to use them to measure social and economic development in Bong County. You have been chosen to be part of this wealth creation strategy and we know you will not let the President down.

“We know through our monitoring processes we will be able to see tangibles, to see how you will move from being at the lowest ebb of society to an upper level of society through the funding program where you will be owners of big businesses, like supermarkets, wholesalers, and suppliers,” he said.

Some of the groups that received funding were Short People Association of Bong County, the Millennial “New thing” Farmers association, Rice seed and vegetable farming association who are also interested in in mushroom production, the Bala Farmer Association , Koma Women Association, Women United for Economic Empowerment, Barrack Women Association, among others.