Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced a partnership with fashion designer, Mai Atafo, and photographer, Kelechi Amadi, to train awardees in its empowerment programmes.

The drink maker currently runs two initiatives, ‘Isedowo’ and ‘Progress Booster’ positioned to support consumers who are business owners and professionals within the Nigerian informal sector with grants, loans, and access to building business relationships with their trade associations.

Awardees selected from the programmes will get expert mentorship from Atafo and Amadi to improve the value of their services and create more impact.

NB stated that the initiative, launched in 2017, had awarded 200 artisans across the southern part of the country where the programmes were domiciled in 2021 alone.

Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Lager, NB Plc, Kehinde Kadiri, described Isedowo and Progress Booster as major lifelines for many entrepreneurs in the region.

She was quoted as saying, “We are pleased to see the number of people who are eager to get these grants to support their businesses.

“It is important to not just give people monetary support but to show them how they can utilise it.

What better way than pairing them with experts who will not only help them improve their skills but also share invaluable experiences from their successes and mistakes in the field.”

One of the beneficiaries, Justice Amadi, expressed his excitement about the training saying, “I am happy to be selected for this training. I see it as an opportunity to grow my career.

He added that working with Kelechi Amadi had been his dream and expressed gratitude to Nigerian Breweries for making the training a reality.