Liberia: Cornelia Kruah Empowerment Fund Supports 50 Women in District 13

Monrovia — Fifty women entrepreneurs in Montserrado County's District 13 received business support packages, including umbrellas and L$10,000 each, through the Cornelia Wonkerleh Kruah Empowerment Fund on Sunday.

The initiative aims to boost small-scale businesses and empower women to achieve economic independence.

The fund, founded by Cornelia Kruah, Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs, targets women facing economic hardship due to Liberia's history of civil conflict, the Ebola crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking during the distribution event in New Georgia Estate, Minister Kruah said the program is designed to support women who often become sole providers for their families under difficult circumstances, including widowhood, unemployment of male relatives, or abandonment.

"These women, many of whom are without formal education, engage in small-scale street selling to feed their families and send their children to school. This fund is my way of giving back and helping them become self-reliant," Kruah said.

She explained that the empowerment fund, which is personally financed, began in District 13, where she resides, and is now scaling up its operations.

"The core vision of the fund is to enable women traders to become productive and self-sustaining members of their communities. This empowerment is not just about money--it's about preserving dignity and discouraging risky survival tactics," she added.

Kruah said the initiative will soon expand to marketplaces across Montserrado County and eventually to all fifteen counties in Liberia. She stressed that the fund is committed to non-discriminatory support for women who meet its eligibility criteria.

She also outlined long-term plans to transition the fund into a formal non-profit organization that will offer beneficiaries training in business planning and management.

"We want to give them not just a start-up, but also the knowledge to grow. This will attract additional support from government and international partners," Kruah said.

She emphasized the fund's intention to seek partnerships with local, regional, and international humanitarian organizations, as well as the Liberian government, to broaden its reach and impact.

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