Ford Mart Limited, a retail business outlet in Nigeria, hosted children in Benin City at this year’s Children’s Day anniversary as a form of giving back to its host community and celebrating the Nigerian children.
According to Group Managing Director of Ford Mart, Mr Clifford Ewere Williams, in keeping with her mandate of family first, Ford Mart has taken an unprecedented step by offering scholarships to five students in Benin City, Edo State, as part of the organisation’s support to families and giving back to the society.
Mr Williams said, “This annual initiative started by celebrating children every year and now creating a platform for almost 150 children to intern and learn at the Benin branch. This year’s Children’s Day celebration, the children were exposed to our inventory and supply-chain management, baking process, customer service and a host of other processes.
“What we have offered is an opportunity to build a career and imbibe entrepreneurship skills. It was tagged “Dignity in Labour”, and we have decided to make it a yearly event.”
Mr Williams, speaking further, explained that beyond the scholarships awarded to children from the total pool, we observed that not many school offer basic and practical entrepreneurship training, “which is why we have decided to expand our Children’s Day initiative by creating a platform where young minds are exposed to the rudiments of business, accounting, diligence, discipline and courteous service in addition to schooling. Our aim is to support both families and the government in raising tomorrow’s leaders”.
The retail outlet, with headquarters in Abuja since 2015, was established to offer a one-stop shopping experience by combining a grocery store with fresh produce, bakery, restaurant and dairy products with electronics, apparel, toys and home furnishings. The core of their mission is to create seamless customer experience and bring value to everyone. Its logo is a smiling smiley, which depicts a happy experience every time.
The Benin branch was only opened over a year ago and has been noted to offer trend-forward merchandise like clothing, household goods, electronics, toys as well as other items at unbeatable prices.
The awards presentation was done by Esv. Sunny Oviojie, who encouraged the children to ensure the lessons learnt are imbibed, advising parents also to channel the scholarship towards funding of the children’s education.
The Floor Manager Musa Shaibu reiterated that in Ford Mart, best-buy price is not just a mantra but a cornerstone of their strategy, noting “we provide a deep assortment of general household goods that our customers appreciate – at fair prices”.
