Nigeria - Startup under 3 years old

Describe your project or startup in a few words

Women and girls with disabilities experience double discrimination, which places them at higher risk of gender-based violence, sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment. My aims is to address these challenges through comprehensive support empowerment program

01.01 Describe your startup in more detail

Women and girls with disabilities experience double discrimination, which places them at higher risk of gender-based violence, sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation. They also have limited opportunity for economic security and are likely to be dependent on potential abusers. Many live in social isolation due to limited mobility and restricted access to basic social services. Unable to make friends outside of their disability community, many are dependent on their care providers, assistants or support persons who are often also their abusers. Owing to physical and communication limitations, women with disabilities are less likely to fully assess risk in their environment, flee from abusers, or report their abusers. Often, they are seen as asexual or sexually undesirable so their experiences of sexual violence are often disbelieved. I collaborate with seasoned counselors to provide psychosocial counseling for them and also provided access to information on rehabilitation

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

Gender-based violence (GBV) against women is a global issue that transcends all boundaries in terms of culture, geography, religion, social class, and economic status. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 35% of women worldwide have reported experiencing either physical or sexual partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. According to National Demographic and Health Survey, 2018 (NDHS, 2018), 55% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence have never sought help to stop the violence; only about 32% sought help. However, women with disabilities are doubly at risk of GBV. According to the 2011 World Report on Disability; Over 25 million individuals in Nigeria have at least one handicap and about half of these are women and girls. Many are financially abused and taken advantage of by their partners who make them believe they are doing them a favor by being with them, often this includes physical violence, devaluing and emotional abuse.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your startup provides (at least 3).

1. Data would be collected, which would be used to create rehabilitation 2.Through a snowball approach, WWD who had experienced GBV will be identified and interviewed to share their experience of GBV. Their stories will be used to produce a 30-minutes documentary that will be used as a training and advocacy tool. The documentary will be premiered to an audience that will include key religious, cultural, policy makers, media, women’s rights and disability rights organizations, legislators, judges, law enforcement etc. After the premier the documentary will be used during training and advocacy visits. It will also be widely circulated through social media. 3. It will help to collaborate with disability and women’s rights Groups and Organizations to further create awareness and skills that will promote prevention of GBV against women with disabilities through engagement with subgroups and stakeholders in the community. 4. It will draw funding to help build shelters for survivors of GBV.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your startup’s product/service is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

The first targets are the persons living with diabilities. Organizations of persons with disabilities are being supported to engage with various stakeholders such as policy makers, law enforcement, judiciary and sometimes health professionals. Most of these interventions focus largely on addressing access to care and justice. It would also benefit leadership of relevant traditional, religious, policy, leaders of Persons with Disabilities to get their buy-in and guidance on the project. A series of advocacies and focused group meetings/ community dialogues meetings will be held with different layers of religious and cultural leaders. These will raise awareness and aspire to change behaviors and attitudes about Gender based violence especially among Women with disabilities. They will also build their capacities to champion the campaign for the prevention of GBV especially among WWD. Furthermore, the two key institutions, culture and religion that drive patriarchal norms on GBV.

01.05 When was your company established?

2023-01-14

01.06 Are you already selling your product/service?

No

01.07 How many other owners are there within your startup?

10

01.08 Among the other owners, how many are female?

8

01.09 Please describe the profile of the other owners within your startup (skills, experience, etc.)

They are graduates, with BSc degrees. As a social development worker, with a touch on human resource management and highly passionate about developmental works and keen on the issues of peace, security, human rights, and intercultural exchanges, mitigating the impact of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), have been at the core of their learning for the past three years. Having developed a sharp interest for such issues as soon as they were introduced to them, they have explored these topics in great depth and consequently, have done a lot of collaborative works as well as volunteered in social development which focused on SGBV. They are particularly interested in structural issues that impede peace processes such as SGBV, Drug Abuse that contribute to the facilitation of inequality in developing countries, amongst other things. Through not only academic but also this project they will develop high levels of knowledge on such key problematics, along with strong analytical skills.

01.10 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link(s) here:

https://www.facebook.com/GNIORGANISATION

01.11 Which industry best describes your project?

j) Public services

02.01.01 My startup contributes to the No poverty goal

4

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification for my startup

02.02.01 My startup contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification for my startup

We understand the importance of food security and hence have registered also our agro center to process, package and export agro commodities but have started with processing seasoned and sweet dried cat fish for sell using the natural fish feed like Black Soldier Fly as an alternative feed. We have acquired the requisite exporting skills from Nigeria Export Promotion Council under a sponsored training for 3months hence we require funding to procure equipment to help rear the Black Soldier Fly as well as scale up our fish processing using dehydrator Our vision is to be able to process 500kg of dried fish and acquire enough customers to supply for per month in the next five years, while our mission to Dry, process, package and export healthy and deliver Fish to middle and high class individuals and already established clients. Our objective is to process 100kg of fresh cat fish in a month, doing 25kg per batch.

02.03.01 My startup contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

4

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification for my startup

02.04.01 My startup contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification for my startup

I have ten years’ experience in youth leadership development. I have worked for eight years as a leadership consultant and a trainer in various leadership organizations including Generation Next Impact, World Youth Council, and Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI). I currently help the young people develop their skills, which allow them to become productive members of the society. I help them to be opened to new ideas and this has made them ideal population to lead projects and programs that encourage civil engagement. I have created and implemented a sensitization and awareness activities among the young people on the dangers of drug and substance abuse, which is a major trigger to the rise on Gender Based Violence among WWD/Girls, the impact of sexual and gender based violence against the young people and ways to curb such menace and contribute meaningfully to the development of the nation. This has brought about 30% increases in right behavioral changes among the young people.

02.05.01 My startup contributes to the Gender equality goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification for my startup

Women with disabilities face significant barriers in education, employment, healthcare, and advocacy, which hinder their ability to lead independent and fulfilling lives. Women with Disabilities are doubly affected by gender-based violence due to intersectionalities and multiple layers of vulnerabilities including religion, culture, access to education, economic securities, limited access to social facilities among many others. Yet, many GBV programs in Nigeria do not prioritize prevention of GBV among women with disabilities. Many women Organizations who champion GBV programs are often ill equipped to understand and respond to GBV prevention among WWDs. Organizations of persons with disabilities also experience limitations due to the limited understanding of the multiplicity of factors that fuel their disabilities. Patriarchal norms promoted by cultural and religious value systems significantly contribute to GBV among Women including those with disabilities. Women must treated well.

02.06.01 My startup contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

4

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification for my startup

02.07.01 My startup contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

6

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification for my startup

I realized that many farmers grow tobacco for a living as it is one of the few crops that generates income there. However, the processing of raw tobacco leaves in the kilns (barns) requires firewood. This made farmers to cut down local tree cover and forests. Furthermore, the burning of the tobacco leaves produces a large amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. There are other problems associated with tobacco cultivation. Therefore, an alternative commercial crop had to be found. “Akom shut-up”, a small perennial shrub with oil-rich seeds, was the answer. It has a large positive energy input, does not destroy biodiversity-rich land. We collaborated with the farmers and training them in the agronomics of the plant andthe extraction of biofuel for more income; To date, I am committed to raising funding through public-private collaboration to mitigate the risks associated with investments in agriculture and to leverage additional financial resources, bridging the financing gap.

02.08.01 My startup contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

4

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification for my startup

02.09.01 My startup contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

4

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification for my startup

02.10.01 My startup contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification for my startup

There are limited advocacy efforts to equip them to understand the intersectional marginalization that contributes to higher incidences of GBV among WWD. The physical and sexual abuse of women with disabilities is perceived by them as both gendered oppression and debilitating violence. The higher prevalence of GBV among women and girls with disability can be explained and better addressed within the framework of intersectionality. Intersectionality is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class and gender as they apply to a given individual or group as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. It is used to understand women’s experiences at the intersection of a number of simultaneous oppressions including but not limited to race, class, caste, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, nationality, geography, diseases status, religion, education, etc, where gender intersects with other inequalities, oppressions

02.11.01 My startup contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

4

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification for my startup

02.12.01 My startup contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

4

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification for my startup

02.13.01 My startup contributes to the Climate action goal

6

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification for my startup

I synergized with Drug Law enforcement agencies, to ensuring that justice is served to drug supplies. There is also a connection between drug abuse and ozone depletion leading to greenhouse effect. Similarly, the leadership lapses and carelessness of the leaders have created more problems than we could bear. Over the years, I have built vast experience in leadership development. I have worked for years as a leadership consultant and a trainer in various leadership organizations. I currently help the young people develop their skills, which allow them to become productive members of the society. I help them to be opened to new ideas, which has made them the ideal population to lead projects and programs that encourage civil engagement. I have created and implemented a sensitization and awareness activities among them on the dangers of drug and substance abuse to the environment and my quest to further my studies on bio-remediation, would help clean up the mess of Ozone layer depletion.

02.14.01 My startup contributes to the Life below water goal

4

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification for my startup

02.15.01 My startup contributes to the Life on land goal

4

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification for my startup

02.16.01 My startup contributes to the Peace Justice and Strong Institutions goal

6

02.16.02 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions- Justification for my startup

As a management and leadership graduate, with a touch on human resource management and biological science and one who is passionate about developmental works and who is keen on the issues of peace, security, human rights, and intercultural exchanges in an ever progressing and interconnected global (social and political) climate have been at the core of my learning for the past one year. Having developed a sharp interest for such issues as soon as I was introduced to them, I have explored these topics in great depth and consequently, have done a lot of collaborative works as well as volunteered in national development which focused on youth and leadership development. I am particularly interested in structural issues that impede peace processes such as gender or race-based social inequalities, or the legacies of colonialism that contribute to the facilitation of political violence in developing countries, amongst other things. Through not only academic but also personal research,

02.17.01 My startup contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

4

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification for my startup

06.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

4

06.02 The product/service represents an entirely new type of product/service.

4

06.03 The product/service could be described as a new technology.

4

06.04 The product/service is an improvement on an existing product or service.

4

06.05 The product/service could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

4

06.06 The product/service responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

4

06.07 The product/service is a new version of an old product/service.

4

06.08 Justification for my startup

06.09 Competitive Analysis

My potential competitors are Academy for Health Development (AHEAD) and the Anglican Compassion and Development Initiative (ACADI) but we bring in more. The Business structure is fluid with flexible approach and excellent services Prompt intervention upon rescue mission on survivors with excellent confidentiality of survivors Owner’s vision and values drives business practices. I believe that nobody deserves to be treated unequally and maltreated due to circumstances and health. Client Management roles are allocated in response to challenges that emerge and we attempt to break Survivor complaints are dealt with at the management level Communication is formal and in response to request with active listening skills and paying attention to details. Integrity is our core value spiced with excellence. The organization’s visions and values are formally expressed. A more strategic approach to reward is adopted, aligned to the organization’s goals, performance related rewrads to staff.

11.05 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

I recruited and trained twelve research assistants from the community who understood the dangers women faced in the state and then we conducted an interview with twelve state and non-state actors on SGBV. I interviewed two hundred and eight survivors as well as two in-depth interviews with two survivors whose cases of SGBV resulted to pregnancy. I am currently working with the Secondary School Education Board to ensure that school curricula include topics related to human, also designing preventive strategies.