The Federal Government has begun a three-day entrepreneurship skills development programme for 42 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) across the seven states in the Northwest to enhance their economic empowerment and livelihoods.
The states are Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto and Zamfara.
The training exercise was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouk, stated this at the inauguration of the exercise yesterday in Kano.
She said that six participants drawn from each of the seven states of the region would get N100, 000 each as start-up capital.
Umar-Farouq said that elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against PWDs and empowering them economically through the provision of skills training would go a long way in paving the way for unbundling their full potential.
The minister, represented by Mrs Nkechi Nwukwe, Director, Special Needs of the ministry, said the government was mindful of the importance of disability as a development issue.
“The entrepreneurial skills offer new opportunities for everyone. These opportunities are more significant for the PWDs,” she said.
She said the participants would be exposed to modern techniques in fish farming, phone repairs and cosmetic production.
