SIFAX Group, through its NGO, the Ajoke Ayisat Afolabi Foundation (AAAF), and other partners, supported 3,083 vulnerable persons across the country in July. Beneficiaries included widows, children, voluntary returnees abroad, and people with disabilities.

Initiatives ranged from healthcare support for 639 people in Lagos, Isade and Zaria, to vocational training for 1,398 women, girls, and boys in crocheting, tailoring, shoemaking, and bag-making.

The Foundation also facilitated one-day training for petty traders in Umuahia ahead of the interest-free loans scheme, empowered 10 traders in Zaria, provided a borehole for Agbelekale community in Lagos, and in collaboration with the World Bank and National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), distributed essential items to 750 voluntary abroad returnees.

Similarly, in August, SIFAX Group partnered with NIDSMET Services to sponsor the skill acquisition training of 500 youths in Lagos. Participants were trained in confectionery, catering, textile design, photography, cosmetics, event management, and diverse skills.

Speaking at the grand finale of the skill acquisition programme in Satellite Town, Lagos, Mr. Olumuyiwa Akande, group head, Corporate Communications, SIFAX Group, represented by Mr. Olatunde Adewola, emphasised that the company’s philosophy goes beyond profit-making and extends to philanthropy and creating sustainable pathways for economic growth.

“At SIFAX Group, we measure success not just by business achievements but by the lives we touch and the opportunities we create. Entrepreneurship and empowerment remain central to our vision of a better Nigeria,” he said, urging beneficiaries to build their futures on integrity, excellence, and digital visibility.

Mr. Olabiyi Oluwole, managing director of NIDSMET Services, the programme continues to produce entrepreneurs who eventually become job creators.

“SIFAX Group has been a major supporter of this programme since its inception, and since then, many of our graduands have become successful business owners”, he noted.

Foluke Ademokun, AAAF Coordinator, said the Foundation remained focused on providing succour for disadvantaged groups nationwide.

“From scholarships for widows’ children to empowerment opportunities for women, AAAF is committed to eradicating poverty and delivering sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s most pressing challenges.”

The donation was aimed at providing support to vulnerable households facing increased food prices and other economic challenges in the country.

According to Mrs. Folashade Afolabi, the rising cost of living has negatively impacted the less privileged and those with low income and noted that her partnership with AAAF was to bring relief to the selected widows.

She said:

“The Foundation works with the less privileged and has various programmes to support them and their households. I am partnering with the Foundation to further strengthen their financial capacity to discharge their roles more effectively and to reach more beneficiaries. The last few months have seen a surge in the cost of living, especially food prices. Widows, due to their economic situation, are mostly impacted by changes in the economy. This food donation is to provide succour to these widows and their families.”

On her own part, Foluke Ademokun, executive coordinator, AAAF emphasized the foundation’s commitment to supporting underprivileged communities, especially widows and their children.

“This initiative is part of our ongoing efforts to provide relief and encouragement to those who need it most. We are deeply grateful to Mrs. Folashade Afolabi for her motherly concern in supporting us to reach more beneficiaries,” she said.

The widows expressed their gratitude for the foundation’s thoughtful gesture. One of them, Mrs. Egwuonwu said “This donation has come at a time when we truly need it, before now, I was already thinking of what my children will eat. It is not just about rice; it’s about knowing that we are not alone in our struggles. We are grateful to the foundation for remembering us.”

AAAF is a non-governmental organisation alleviating poverty through education, skills and financial empowerment for widows, orphans and vulnerable persons across Nigeria.

The Foundation promotes access to skills, education and healthcare for vulnerable children, women, particularly widows and resource poor communities. In addition to providing scholarships for primary, secondary and tertiary education, AAAF builds the skills of our beneficiaries through training, advocacy and viable collaboration.

According to Foluke Ademokun, executive coordinator, AAAF, while speaking on the activities of the non-governmental organisation in the first quarter of this year, noted that the driving force behind this initiative was to support indigent parents as well as tackle the menace of out-of-school children.

She said:

“We are focused on helping the government reduce the number of out-of-school children, so in our way, we have provided a platform where we source and pay for school fees of indigent students across Nigeria so they can access quality education, despite the financial circumstance of their parents or guardians and we have been doing this since the inception of the Foundation about 15 years ago. Thousands of underprivileged children have benefitted from the Foundation.

“In the first quarter of 2024, we have paid for over 237 students in Lagos and Zaria and we are optimistic that before the end of the year, we should reach more than 2,000 students. The Foundation also plans to equip the students with in-demand skills, promote life-long learning opportunities, and reduce inequalities in access to quality education.”

Ademokun further said Afolabi foundation also extended support to Umunna Comprehensive Secondary School, Umuosu in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State with the donation of 3-in-1 desks and seats to foster a good learning environment that would impact the student’s overall learning experience and success.

“When we visited the school and we saw that the environment was not conducive for learning especially the tables and desks used by the students. We knew that an intervention was necessary to make the school attractive for the students, this was why we initiated this donation of new desks and seats. We believe that the students will be motivated and better engaged with the new desks and seats”, she noted.

Other projects executed by the Foundation and SIFAX Group in the first quarter of the year, according to Ademokun, include the provision of daily meals for indigents in Zaria, donation of foodstuffs to over 1,000 Lagos residents, free medical outreaches in Lagos and Ogun states, digital training for market women in Lagos, distribution of energy-efficient stoves to women in Abia state, and start-up grants to women in Zaria, Kaduna state.

While commenting on the various projects, Basil Agboarumi, executive director, Corporate and Governmental Affairs, SIFAX Group noted that the Group was committed to investing in the underprivileged Nigerians through its various intervention projects aimed at improving their quality of life.

The SIFAX Group’s CSR is focused primarily on education, health, economic empowerment (youth and women) and the physically-challenged.

On education and health, hundreds of indigent students enjoyed full scholarship while equipment and facilities were donated to public educational and health institutions.

Individuals with medical emergencies also received financial support.

Youth and women economic empowerment also took a large chunk of the budget with skill acquisition trainings organized for unemployed youths and women across the country.

Business grants were also extended to those who completed the training programmes. Some targeted and disadvantaged poor households were also catered to as food items were donated to them on a monthly basis.

Various initiatives targeted at the physically-challenged children living with conditions like autism, down syndrome and the blind were also supported by the company in the course of the year.

Most of these projects were executed through its philanthropic arm, Ajoke Ayisat Afolabi Foundation (AAAF) which has offices in Lagos, Zaria and Umuahia.

Speaking on the SIFAX Group’s CSR projects in 2021, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, group executive vice chairman, SIFAX Group, said one of the key pillars of the company’s business philosophy is to positively impact humanity and the society in any economy where the company carries out its operations.

According to him: “Right from the inception of our company in 1988, we have integrated social impact into our business strategy. Our businesses are not designed for profit making alone. We see ourselves as a platform that support social causes that provide access to opportunities, engender social stability and economic prosperity. We are motivated to do more when we see the physical impact of these CSR projects on the beneficiaries who today run into thousands.”

Foluke Ademokun, executive coordinator, AAAF, on her own part, noted that the beneficiaries of the various programmes are making a judicious use of the opportunities, adding that the Foundation seeks to partner with more sponsors, both domestic and international, as well as other stakeholders, in order to touch more lives.

Below are some photographs from few of the CSR projects backed by Sifax Group in 2021: