The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), has empowered no fewer than 100 Ondo State women with tricycles popularly known as Keke and other items.
The CREDICORP, in partnership with Gamma Mobility and Accion Microfinance Bank, said it was an expansion of the Queen Rider programme, an ambitious nationwide initiative empowering 3,700 Nigerian women, with at least 100 from each State and the Federal Capital Territory.
Olanike Kolawole, Executive Director of Operations, CREDICORP, while flagging off the exercise in Akure on Tuesday, said the essence of the programme was to build a pipeline of dignity, where Nigerian women move from survival to stability through credit.
According to her, the locally-assembled tricycles, fully financed through an affordable credit were provided under the Securing Consumer Access for Local Enterprises Initiative.
Kolawole said; “the Queen Rider programme, which aims to empower 3,700 Nigerian women, at least 100 per state and the FCT, gives beneficiaries ownership of vehicles that can be used for commercial transport, unlocking income opportunities and economic independence, particularly for women often excluded from formal lending and high-yield economic sectors.
“As with previous rollouts, the tricycles distributed in Akure were assembled locally by Simba TVS, one of Nigeria’s leading three-wheelers (keke) assemblers with a production capacity of over 1,170 vehicles daily. This strengthens Nigeria’s industrial base while ensuring that each loan supports local job creation and economic circulation.
“These are more than vehicles. They represent access, ownership, and control over one’s economic future and they’re made in Nigeria, financed in Nigeria, and changing lives across Nigeria.
“The Akure rollout attracted stakeholders from the public and private sectors, highlighting the alignment between CREDICORP’s mission and the Ondo State Government’s commitment to economic inclusion and industrial growth.
“By enabling structured, credit-based access to productive tools, CREDICORP is catalyzing grassroots economic activity, one state at a time. The Queen Rider programme is one of several transformative projects under the organization’s broader vision to provide consumer credit to half of Nigeria’s working population by 2030.
“Other ongoing programmes, such as YouthCRED, targeted at youth and NYSC members and C.A.L.M for clean energy and CNG access, effect the same principle: using credit as a tool for inclusion, empowerment, and growth.
“CREDICORP continues to work in close partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), licensed financial institutions, and local manufacturers to deliver scalable and inclusive financial solutions across the country.”
