SUN OCT 04 2026-theGBJournal| Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday officially flagged off the second phase of a $540 million Community Investment Fund aimed at expanding economic opportunities for women, strengthening women-led community groups and widening access to finance in Nigeria’s rural and underserved communities.
The Community Investment Fund II is being implemented under the Nigeria for Women Programme Scale-Up (NFWP-SU) and is financed by the World Bank and the Federal Government.
Shettima launched the programme at the Muhammad Dikko Stadium in Katsina as part of an official visit during which he is also scheduled to commission major road projects and launch a fleet of cleaner-energy public transport vehicles.
The new fund builds on the first phase of the Nigeria for Women Project, which was implemented between 2018 and 2024.
The scale-up is intended to extend the programme’s reach while deepening support for women through access to productive assets, financial services, skills and markets.
The programme is designed to help reduce poverty and strengthen the economic resilience of households and communities by improving women’s ability to participate in income-generating activities.
The launch comes as governments across Nigeria seek to expand access to finance and economic opportunities for women, particularly in communities where limited financial services and markets constrain household incomes.
As part of the Katsina visit, Shettima is also expected to launch 30 compressed natural gas hybrid buses and 200 electric tricycles, an initiative aimed at providing cleaner and more affordable public transportation while reducing reliance on conventional fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
The Vice President will also commission a number of completed road projects in Katsina metropolis, including the 4.8-kilometre dualised Kofar Sauri–Central Mosque Roundabout Road and the 2.4-kilometre Central Police Station Junction–Kofar Kaura Underpass Road.
He is further scheduled to commission the newly constructed four-kilometre Filin Polo–Ring Road, part of efforts to improve traffic flow, connectivity and urban mobility in the state capital.
Shettima is expected to end the visit at the Katsina State Government House, where he will receive new members joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Meanwhile, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis and his delegation at the Government House, Katsina where they undertook a comprehensive review of World Bank-supported programmes in the State covering Investment Project Financing (IPF) and Programme-for-Results (PforR) operations, including implementation progress, financial performance and measures to accelerate development outcomes.
The delegation commended Katsina for gradually emerging as a model for proper coordination of development partners through the KTDMB and for institutionalizing community-driven development across sectors including education, agriculture, livelihoods and social development.
The Bank specifically applauded the Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, for the Community Development Programme, describing it as a critical framework that ensures government interventions respond to actual community needs while strengthening ownership, accountability and sustainability.
The team also lauded the State’s participatory budgeting approach as an important shift towards bottom-up planning and noted that Katsina is not just implementing isolated projects, but building a system of community-driven development consistent with the World Bank’s philosophy.
The meeting was attended by the Principal Private Secretary, Hon. Abdullahi Aliyu Turaji; Executive Director, Katsina State Development Management Board, Mustapha Shehu; Honourable Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Aminu Malumfashi and other top government officials.
Governor Radda welcomed the delegation and thanked the World Bank for its sustained partnership with Katsina State.
He assured the team that his administration will continue to strengthen collaboration, resolve implementation bottlenecks and ensure that every development financing translates into measurable and sustainable results for the people.
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