NOF works to address these issues by focusing its grant-making on three poverty-reduction strategies with great potential for impact:

  • Development finance (micro-credit and business development assistance)
  • Enterpreneurship and employability skill training
  • Environmental protection and sustainable livelihoods promotion

Within these broad strategies, NOF supports context-specific interventions that focus on the most vulnerable groups, especially women and youth in neglected areas of Nigeria; such as remote rural settlements and hard-to-reach terrains. Emphasis is placed on solutions that build on the assets of the poor especially their labour, social networks and their time-tested coping strategies such as cooperatives, labour pooling and revolving loan schemes. In addition, activities that foster and strengthen the synergies between these three approaches tend to enjoy a higher chance of securing the support of NOF.

Onyebuchi Okolie
This woman was into the sale of birds(chicken). She bred and sold them, but as the cost of feeding the birds increased, with some threats of bird flu, she switched to selling of cooked foods; which is what she still trades in now. Within this period of using our loan, her marriage crashed and she is now left to take care of her children alone, because her ex has abandoned his responsibilities towards his children. She also changed her business location from the house where she used to sell her birds, to the famous Ashia Eke market. She has  fully pay back her loan and is seeking for another loan to re-invest into her business for more growth and income.

Mrs Theresa Nwaejije
This is another successful story that we have to show for our efforts. She shared with us that as soon as she got the loan, she immediately added new brands of items to the ones she used to sell, thereby increasing the varieties of goods in her store. She said she added items like baking flour, sugar and Zobo flower. She then decided to package the sugar in a more unique way for better appeal to her customers, and her customers are excited with what she has done with the store.I saw lots of customers coming in to buy things from her during my last visit to her shop.

Mrs Bendu Megwai
This woman solely takes care of her seven children because her husband is very frail and sick.

She said that as soon as she got her N 50,000 loan, she quickly rushed to the Onitsha market in Anambra State, to buy more plastic coolers which is one of the items she sells in the shop she runs in front of her house. She also bought more fire woods and Plantains- although in small quantities, but she has put the loan to good use, increased her sales, made more profits and repaid her loan 100%.