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Our Programs

Rebuilding Lives
Through Economic
Empowerment

We give women and conflict-affected families the tools, skills, and financial access they need to rebuild — not just survive, but truly thrive.

The Context

When Conflict Takes Everything,
We Help Rebuild

The Boko Haram insurgency didn't just destroy infrastructure — it destroyed livelihoods. Businesses were burned, farmlands were abandoned, and hundreds of thousands of women were left as sole providers for their families, with no income, no savings, and no safety net.

Inara Foundation's Economic Empowerment program provides seed grants, vocational training, and financial access to women and households in Northern Nigeria — meeting people at the point of their greatest need and walking with them toward independence.

Our approach is not charity — it is investment. Every woman we support is a business owner, a mother, a community anchor. When she thrives, her family thrives, and her community transforms.

Economic Empowerment
Our Programmes

Three Paths to Independence

We work across three connected tracks — each targeting a different dimension of economic vulnerability.

Women Empowerment

Women's Seed Grant Program

Direct financial grants and business starter packages to help widows, IDP women, and low-income housewives launch petty trades and small businesses that generate real income.

  • Seed grants for trade startup costs
  • Business skills and literacy training
  • Ongoing mentorship and follow-up support
  • Focus on widows and IDP women in the Northeast
NIRSAL

NIRSAL Microfinance Access

Inara Foundation facilitated access to the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank Credit Facility for vulnerable women and small-scale entrepreneurs — bridging the gap between formal finance and underserved communities.

  • Access to low-interest microfinance loans
  • Documentation and application support
  • Financial literacy workshops
  • Group lending and accountability models
Anchor Borrowers

Anchor Borrowers Programme

In partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria's Anchor Borrowers Programme, Inara Foundation supported smallholder farmers with input support, technical training, and market linkages to boost agricultural productivity.

  • Smallholder farmer input support
  • Agric technical training sessions
  • Market linkage and off-taker connections
  • CBN collaboration in Borno and Yobe
Empowered woman
A Story of Resilience
"I used to sit at home as a housewife, managing what my husband brought. He is a mechanic and doesn't earn much. Inara Foundation gave me money to start my petty trade. I am now able to support my family. Thank you."
F
Falmata Abacha
Petty Trader, Borno State
Our Partners

Who We Work With

Our economic empowerment programs are strengthened by strategic partnerships with government and financial institutions.

Central Bank of Nigeria

Collaboration under the CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme, connecting smallholder farmers in the Northeast to institutional finance, input supply, and structured market access — strengthening food systems while building economic resilience.

NIRSAL Microfinance Bank

Partnership to facilitate access to NIRSAL's formal credit facility for vulnerable women entrepreneurs who would otherwise be excluded from the financial system — democratizing access to capital in underserved communities.

Bank of Industry (BOI)

BOI partnership to support small and medium enterprise development — connecting Inara beneficiaries to industrial financing that scales their business capacity beyond petty trade into structured enterprise.

MacArthur Foundation

The MacArthur Foundation has supported Inara Foundation's work in Northern Nigeria, providing critical funding that enables us to scale our economic empowerment programs and reach more families across the Northeast.

Support Empowerment

Invest in a Woman,
Transform a Community

Your support funds seed grants, training programs, and microfinance access for women and families who have lost everything to conflict — but have not lost their will to rebuild.

Donate Today Become a Partner