By Tina Amanda
Civil society organizations (CSOs) and business actors in Rivers State have been urged to focus on domestic resource mobilization rather than depend on funding from the Global North for their social change initiatives.
Kelechi Ameachi, Coordinator of the Rivers State Tax Justice and Governance Platform, made this call during a Resource Mobilization Capacity Building Write-Shop held in Port Harcourt. The event was a component of the Power of Voices Partnership Fair for All project, funded by Oxfam and brought together CSOs, media professionals, business owners, and Tax Club students from tertiary institutions.
Ameachi emphasized that excessive reliance on foreign donors has limited the ability of many organizations to explore local funding opportunities and foster collaboration with their counterparts.
“We trained participants on resource mobilization to equip them with the skills needed to secure funding for their work, particularly in advocating for fair and progressive taxation in Rivers State,” Ameachi stated.
He further pointed out that foreign funding is dwindling as many donor countries prioritize nationalist policies.
“From various studies done by researchers is been found out that civil society or social actors global South depends heavily on the global North to fund their activities and given the growth in nationalist politics around the world people who are anti immigration people, people who places their country first before looking out for other people.
“The trend globally, especially with nationalist politics, is causing a significant decline in funding. We saw this with the current U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration froze funding to many developing countries, this has, in turn, shrunk the civic space for engagement.
Ameachi urged social and business actors to shift their mindset and tap into local resources to sustain their advocacy and operations.
“There are untapped resources within developing countries. If organizations fail to harness these opportunities, they risk shutting down due to over-reliance on external funding,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Tessy Torru of the National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (NASME) encouraged business owners, especially women, to register with NASME and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to access federal government loans for small and medium-scale enterprises.
“The federal government has provided loans ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦1 million, depending on business capacity. We urge women, particularly those in grassroots communities, to take advantage of this opportunity.”
She highlighted that financial dependence often puts women in vulnerable positions, leading to domestic violence and inequality in marriages.
“Many women remain in difficult marriages because of financial constraints. Economic empowerment will help alleviate their struggles,” she added.
To ensure accessibility, NASME has partnered with Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) to assist women in filling out loan applications. Additionally, beneficiaries receive training through seminars and workshops on business management and financial literacy.
“Many women in rural areas are unaware of these opportunities because they lack access to phones, the internet, or news updates. To bridge this gap, we use town criers in communities to spread the information.”
She further stated that while the loan scheme is open to both men and women, priority is given to women due to their disadvantaged position in society.
According to her, for one to qualify for the loan, applicants must:
- Register their businesses with CAC.
- Be members of NASME.
- Be profiled in the NASME database.
Torru reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to supporting small businesses and mitigating the effects of economic challenges, including the continuous devaluation of the naira.
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