Olawepo-Hashim foundation grants N20m to Kwara small-scale entrepreneurs

The Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim Foundation, a non-profit humanitarian organisation, granted about N20 million on Wednesday to empower some small-scale entrepreneurs in Kwara State as part of its economic empowerment programme for vulnerable sections of society.

The foundation, promoted by a former presidential candidate, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, was founded basically to lift vulnerable Nigerians out of poverty and set their feet on the path of productivity.

In his speech at the event, Olawepo-Hashim explained that his gesture is to give back to society.

“I have been doing this for decades. I have a passion for making society better. It is not about having a deep pocket, but about commitment and passion to help people, just as God has also helped me.”.

He admonished the beneficiaries to put the grant to good use instead of lavishing it on frivolities and liabilities.

“Don’t eat the seed; plant and nurture it to produce more fruits to better your lives, so that you too can empower people.

“Nigeria was once a productive nation, producing clothes, cars, pharmaceuticals, etc. We must go back to the old and glorious path. We can start by these small steps”, Olawepo-Hashim said.

He also said, “What I can do at this time when things are really bad is to show love to underprivileged people in particular, and that is something we have been doing for decades.

In his remarks at the occasion, coordinator Gbenga Olwaepo-Hashim Youth Vanguard, Mallam Naallah Azeez, described Olawepo as an undiluted politician and a great mentor, adding that the Otoge revolution that changed the political dynamics in Kwara state in 2019 was started by him.

He prayed that God would continue to enrich him and allow him to play his part in this generation.

Mr. Yinka Babatunde Alanamu equally commended Olawepo-Hashim for “spending his own money to empower us” and prayed for God’s continuous blessing on him.

Pastor Samson Abodunrin, representing the Executives of the Ifesowapo Community area of Ilorin recalled Olawepo-Hashim’s great assistance to the community by grading our road and constructing drainages for us.

“We really appreciate his great gesture. What you don’t appreciate will depreciate. We will continue to appreciate his great contribution, which has been a great relief to us,”  he said, adding that “his charity began at home, and we are now feeling his impact already.

Abodunrin prayed that Olawepo-Hashim would live to fulfil his destiny.

Not a few of the participants at the event commended the Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim Foundation and called on well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the non-partisan approach of Mr. Olawepo-Hashim towards ameliorating the plight of the less privileged.

In his closing remarks, Mr Kamal Adebayo, the Chief of Staff to Olawepo-Hashim, disclosed that the Ilorin event was not the first, adding that a lot of Nigerians had benefited from this gesture across the country.

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