The Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group recently announced that its West African Soy Industries Limited (WASIL), in collaboration with the USAID-funded Global Shea Alliance (GSA), has donated five 100-ton warehouses to women cooperatives in five communities across Kwara State: Alapa, Babanla, Fanagu, Gbugbu, and Patigi.
WASIL also supplied pots for cooking and drying shea nuts before storage, thereby vastly improving the storage conditions for the nuts and ensuring stable, high-quality finished products.
The ultimate goal is to expand income opportunities for women shea nut collectors in the five communities, and strengthen the foundation for inclusive agricultural development while focusing on women and youth at the core of WASIL’s sustainability initiatives.
The donation ceremony, which took place in Alapa, was attended by Honourable Damilola Yetunde Yusuf Adelodun (Kwara State Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology), alongside traditional leaders, women cooperative leaders, and women from the five communities.
WASIL’s Group Head of Sustainability, Yosola Onanuga, and the Sustainable Shea Initiative Programme Manager, Aisha Aliyu, highlighted the impact of WASIL’s sustainability efforts – through these initiatives, over 5,000 women in Kwara State have been empowered through training in shea nut production, cooperative management, and good agricultural practices.
These training sessions also promote environmental conservation through the planting of shea trees.