A non-governmental organisation, Women Development Initiative, says it will mobilise no fewer than 1,700 women across local governments in Lagos State to participate in the 2023 Lagos Women Run.

The Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the organisation, Mrs Bisola Alaka, announced this on Friday in an interview.

She announced further that the programme would begin on Saturday

According to her, Women Development Initiative is planning that the programme, targeted at empowering women, will be  successful.

As part of the organisation’s activities for the 2023 women’s 10-km marathon, it has organised different empowerment trainings in small and medium enterprises, vocational trainings in fashion designing and make-up artists, among others, BRANDPOWER reports.

According to Alaka, the trainings are ongoing at the open ground of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos

“The organisation decides to support the Women Run initiative because of its lofty vision and ideas of empowering women which was also the core value of our organisation.

“We can identify with their purpose and vision for not just being a marathon, but a means of empowering women.

“The Lagos Women Run is also about networking and that is the passion that is driving our organisation.

“This suggests the reason why we are anchoring the vocational trainings of the participants.

”We are training women on different vocations, soap-making and photography, among others, which our ladies can use as source of livelihood.

“Empowerment is not about distributing cash to people but by giving them life-changing skills that they can multiply on their own and pass to the next generations,” she said.

Alaka added that act of empowering women would go a long in tackling the growing unemployment rate in the country.

“Empowering women has a great positive impacts on the economy which is one of the reasons that prompted us to have our presence in all local governments in Lagos State,” she said.

Also, Mrs Sidikat Folami, the Strategist for the Women Development Initiative, said in a separate interview that “the programme has a lot of benefits for the women.

“We are fully ready to participate in the 2023 edition which we know that it will be rewarding.”

BRANDPOWER reports that the 2023 Lagos Women Run will be held on Nov. 11 at 7 a.m. in Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos Island.