By Esther Onyegbula

In a move aimed at promoting economic inclusion and addressing skills shortages in Nigeria’s fabric care industry, the MTN Foundation has partnered with CleanAce Foundation and Academy to train 30 persons with hearing impairment in professional fabric care and dry-cleaning skills.

The initiative, known as the Inclusive Fabricare Skills Empowerment Programme, was unveiled at a stakeholder engagement held in Lagos on Tuesday.

The six-month programme will provide participants with three months of intensive classroom and practical training, followed by two months of internship with partner dry-cleaning firms and a final month dedicated to assessment and consolidation.

Speaking at the launch, Founder of the CleanAce Group, Eniibukun Adebayo, said the programme was inspired by the exceptional performance of a hearing-impaired employee whose rapid mastery of fabric care skills challenged prevailing stereotypes about disability in the workplace.
According to him, the success story prompted the organisation to establish an inclusive training model, which has already produced six cohorts before attracting the support of the MTN Foundation.

“We gave one person an opportunity, and the way he performed was fantastic. What other people would have learned in a month, he was able to learn in one week. We were so impressed that we started this inclusive fabric care programme on our own. We have now trained six cohorts, and today, MTN Foundation is partnering with us to take it to the next level,” Adebayo said.
Highlighting the employment prospects available to graduates, Adebayo noted that Nigeria’s fabric care industry is experiencing a significant shortage of skilled personnel.

“As Chairman of the Fabricare Professionals and Dry Cleaners Association, I can tell you that over 200 dry cleaners across Nigeria are ready to employ trained graduates of this programme,” he said.
He added that participants who complete the programme could earn more than N200,000 monthly, while some may go on to establish their own businesses.

Adebayo disclosed that applicants must possess a minimum of a secondary school certificate and will receive government-recognised certification developed in collaboration with the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs, LASODA, and the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board.
The certification, he said, is equivalent to a semi-diploma qualification.

Also speaking, Edward Fagbohun, Senior Manager, Programme Implementation at MTN Foundation, said disability inclusion remains a key pillar of the Foundation’s corporate social investment strategy.
“Disability, equity and inclusion is at the core of what we do at the MTN Foundation. In this part of the world, disability is often seen as a stigma. We want to change that narrative and demonstrate that there is ability in disability.

“This partnership is another avenue through which we can support persons with disabilities to become self-reliant and meaningful contributors to their families and to society,” Fagbohun said.
He noted that the Foundation would carry out a comprehensive impact assessment at the end of the pilot phase to determine the feasibility of expanding the initiative.

The Human Resource Director of LASODA, Mrs. Omolade Sonubi, expressed the agency’s support for the programme, describing it as a practical demonstration that disability should not be viewed as a limitation.

“This initiative has challenged us to think about new ways of integrating more persons with disabilities into corporate organisations. You have demonstrated that disability is not a liability. There is ability in disability,” she said.

Sonubi commended MTN Foundation for its continued investment in community development and urged more private-sector organisations to embrace disability inclusion.
She cited the employment of deaf workers by Chicken Republic as a model worthy of emulation and assured the partners of LASODA’s continued support as the programme expands.

Also lending support to the initiative, Olubowale Sodeinde, Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Association of Sign Language Interpreters of Nigeria, ASLIN, described the programme as a significant milestone in advancing meaningful inclusion for persons with disabilities.

“Many deaf people do not need to be on the streets begging. If they are given opportunities like this, they can earn a living and contribute meaningfully to society,” Sodeinde said.

Similarly, Founder of Friends of the Deaf International Foundation, Funmilola Ogunro, praised the collaboration for shifting perceptions of persons with disabilities from beneficiaries of charity to active contributors to economic development.

“The MTN Foundation and CleanAce Foundation are coming together to empower deaf persons whom society often overlooks. Instead of seeing them as objects of charity, they are being given an equitable opportunity to excel,” she said.

The event also featured a testimony from Moses Peter Abba, a hearing-impaired employee of CleanAce, who shared his journey from unemployment to becoming a skilled fabric care professional.
Abba recalled arriving in Lagos in 2017 and struggling to secure employment despite submitting numerous job applications.

“When I got to the factory, I saw professional ironing equipment and thought it looked very technical. They encouraged me to learn, and within a week I had mastered it. After two weeks, I could iron independently on my own table,” he said.

The event concluded with a guided tour of the CleanAce factory, giving dignitaries, media representatives and stakeholders an opportunity to observe the training environment that will host the inaugural cohort.

Registration for the programme has commenced and is open to Lagos residents registered with LASODA who possess a minimum of a secondary school certificate.