WOMEN AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT: IMPACT OF KEEP IN BAUCHI STATE 2020-2023

Ruqayya Aminu Gar
Volume 11 Issue 1

Abstract

The Kaura Economic Empowerment Program (KEEP) is a governmental initiative established in 2020 by Governor Bala Mohammed Abdulqadir with a specific focus on poverty and unemployment reduction among women and youth across the twenty local government areas of Bauchi state. The objectives behind KEEP are to initiate, design, and execute different types of empowerment programs for assisting women and youth with an outlook entirely informed by economic values and principles of self-help and mutual assistance to the weak, poor and needy especially women and youth. Recently, studies exist on women empowerment but limited to an academically well examination of the empirical impact of KEEP empowerment programs on the target beneficiaries in Bauchi state. Hence, this study examined KEEP’s empowerment programmes in Bauchi and the extent to which KEEP empower women and youth in Bauchi. Moreover, it also examined the strategies employed in selecting the target beneficiaries and the challenges faced by the program. This study is a quantitative one which utilized questionnaires to collect data from both the beneficiaries of the program as well as from KEEP officials. Findings of the study revealed that KEEP uses economic resources such as grinding machines, sewing machines, motorcycle, groundnut processing equipment, buses, tricycles, commercial cars, goats to encourage animal husbandry, cash and starter packs worth 225 million Naira in the 20 local government areas of Bauchi to empower women and youth. The women and youth beneficiaries were selected via town hall meetings, seminars, workshop and awareness campaigns with the help of community and religious leaders. Although KEEP was successful but faces challenges comprising insufficient funding to sustain and reach out to more target beneficiaries, poor resource management and sustainability skills among its human resources. The study recommends that KEEP needs more skilled management team, and availability of sufficient resources, competent services, assistance and funding through a stable networking process from both governmental and nongovernmental organizations to ensure success and sustainability of women and youth economic empowerment in Bauchi. Keywords: Women; Youth; Economic; Empowerment; Program; Bauchi.

Download Paper