By Juliet Ebirim
Sterling Alternative Finance in partnership with LINKS, Mata Zalla Women Cooperative and Yar Baiwa Women Cooperative have given a major boost to intra-city transport in Kano metropolis by funding 115 electric tricycles for the exclusive use of women carriers in the city. been
This was announced at the opening ceremony of the first electric vehicle charging station of its kind in Kano, which was held recently.
The partnership is a collaborative effort to promote gender empowerment, sustainable transport and environmental conservation in Kano State with 115 participants; 85 have been trained as commercial tricycle operators and 30 are being trained as mechanics specializing in vehicle maintenance.
The initiative, implemented in full compliance with the principles of ethical banking, will allow the construction of an electric vehicle charging station and the financing of participating women to acquire and operate the tricycles, which will be powered by electricity generated from sources renewable
Group Head of Interest Free Banking Sales at Sterling Alternative Finance, Garba Mohammed, while speaking at the event said, “We are proud to be part of this ground-breaking project in Kano State, which aligns with our commitment to sustainable development. We believe that this project will not only promote clean transportation but also create economic opportunities for women operators and mechanics in the region. We are grateful to LINKS, the Mata Zalla Women’s Cooperative and the Cooperative of Yar Baiwa Women for their partnership and support in making this project a reality.”
The pilot program is supported by the Kano State Council of Ulamas, KAROTA, VIO, FRSC and the Ministries of Women, Transport and Environment.
In her remarks at the ceremony, Chairperson of Mata Zalla Women’s Cooperative, Hajiya Hauwa Ahmad Tarauni, described the project as a great economic boon for women in the state.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairperson of Yar Bawai Women’s Cooperative, Hajiya Habiba Abubakar Imam, said with the level of acceptability of the project by leaders in the state, the number of women tricycles in Kano it will quadruple in the near future.
Umar Mohammed, Deputy Team Leader of LINKS-FCDO, stated that LINKS is primarily concerned with empowering women and girls, supported by investments in three northern states: Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa. He claims that Kano is the pilot state for the project and predicts that other Nigerian states will soon follow.
The private sector-led initiative, which is valued at N200 million, will enable interested women who register with the cooperatives to purchase the electric vehicles with a 10 percent equity contribution, with the remaining 90 percent amortized in reach over a period of 3 years.
The tricycles, which will be powered exclusively by rechargeable electric batteries, will contribute significantly to the environmental sustainability of the Kano metropolis by reducing gas emissions and waste associated with the consumption of fossil fuel energy and lubricants used in the maintenance of vehicles with internal combustion engines. .
