First, it was a mere trickle, then a steady turnout. Now, it is a mad rush. Those women, especially from the north, who doubted the promises of Egwafin Microfinance Bank at the beginning are the very ones singing its praises everywhere now. Set up by Hajia Aisha Babangida, the bank has become a provider of hope in form of financial aid for women in rural areas.
Aisha is the Chairperson of the Better Life for Rural Women Programme. Taking over the dream first conceived by her mother, the former first lady Maryam Babangida, Aisha has stood by with caring hands, nurturing the dream, pruning and tending to it, watching it bear fruits for the betterment of rural women in Africa.
Though a mere mortal, Aisha boldly goes into rural and remote locations where others fear to tread, sowing seeds of hope in the lives of the women through her numerous empowerment programmes. Leveraging on her mother’s enduring influence and her own passion and desire to improve the lot of her fellow women, she has financed cooperative societies, promoted agro processing businesses, sponsored scores of women to for skill acquisition courses and instituted adult literacy course throughout the length and breadth of the north.