By Vivian Ihechu
Community-driven efforts are the foundation of global progress, transforming the large-scale promises of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into local realities.
As such, achieving key global targets from eradicating poverty (SDG 1) to ensuring gender equality (SDG 5) and health (SDG 3) relies heavily on grassroots initiatives.
The August Meeting perfectly embodies this grassroots action.
August Meeting is the annual homecoming or convention of Igbo women’s hometown associations of Southeastern Nigeria.
The mothers’ congresses witness massive homecoming of ‘Igbo women’ to their marital rural hometowns, where they unite with their rural-based “co-wives’’ – nwunye di’’ for community development purposes.
This annual gathering strategically empowers women to challenge patriarchal norms and institutionalise local governance, directly accelerating the goal of women empowerment and gender equality.
Furthermore, their collective focus on sanitation and family care makes them indispensable agents of public health in rural communities.
Providing a veritable platform for driving development, these women engage in discussions, manage conflicts and build peace, raise funding for vital community infrastructure, ensure accountability, and drive sustainable economic empowerment.
The August Meeting places accountability, child and family well-being at its core, hence shaping the future of their communities.
In addition, all their engagements promote and uphold cultural values.
The wife of the President, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, at the 2025 gathering in Enugu said that the August Meeting had made a significant impact over the years, providing a vital platform for mothers, daughters and sisters to address pressing societal issues.
Represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, at the gathering organised by the Wife of the Enugu State Governor, Mrs Nkechinyere Mbah, she pointed out that the annual tradition of Igbo women meeting had helped to mobilise women for community building, political participation, empowerment and community development.
Also, the Wife of the Governor of Abia, Mrs Priscilla Otti, represented at a meeting by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Women Affairs, Mrs Chinwe Onyeukwu, described the August Meeting as a celebration of the strength, resilience and unity of women.
Otti said: “We know that the true strength of any society lies in the people, particularly the women, who bear the brunt of every burden in society.’’
Recognising the power of family and community-driven development of the August Meeting grassroots system, Nestlé’s MAGGI showed commitment by sponsoring the 2025 August Meeting across five South-Eastern states – Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
The Maggi brand is Nestlé’s most impactful contribution to the West African kitchen.
The small, concentrated cubes, a culinary staple, not just as a seasoning, Maggi is also a source of essential micronutrients in the region, fortified with Iron (Ferric Pyrophosphate) and contains iodised salt to help address common nutritional deficiencies in the population.
Maggi’s 2025 August Meeting engagements reached no fewer than 8,100 women across 18 communities, offering nutrition education, culinary demonstrations, and meaningful conversations on family wellbeing and economic empowerment.
The experiential events focused on nutrition education, culinary demonstrations, and entrepreneurial support, ensuring the empowerment went beyond economic empowerment and touched on family wellbeing.
This multi-faceted approach reflected Nestlé’s commitment to “lead in responsible consumer communication and education on nutrition” while expanding its nutrition range.
It was also a manifestation of Nestlé’s Creating Shared Value philosophy, providing a gathering where tradition met innovation.
David Rennie from Nestlé headquarters, in recent company discussions on Creating Shared Values toward 20230, had explained that “Creating Shared Value isn’t about choosing between profit and purpose. It’s about how we achieve both”.
According to Mrs Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications Lead for Nestlé Nigeria, women’s empowerment was central to Nestlé’s purpose of unlocking the power of food to enhance the quality of life.
She noted that the MAGGI August Meeting was also a confluence, empowerment and community development meet, by equipping women with practical knowledge, tools, and opportunities.
“This partnership allows us to honour women for the difference they make every day, while demonstrating our commitment to building stronger families
“Women are at the heart of nutrition and community progress, making daily food choices that shape family health.
“Investing in a woman is investing in a family and strengthening the nation.
“This creates a ripple effect. women learn, families eat better, small businesses thrive, and entire communities advance.
“Every empowered woman becomes a change maker, moving beyond the event to apply relevant skills in their homes and businesses’’
Beyond the entrepreneurship and economic scope, MAGGI also saw the need to impact more on the meeting.
In her remarks, Funmi Osineye, MAGGI Category Manager, said the brand recognised the need to harness broader scopes.
“This partnership allows us to provide women with fresh nutrition insights, new skills, and entrepreneurial support that strengthen families and uplift communities.”
The brand’s approach aligned perfectly with Nestlé’s broader strategy of using “familiar and trusted ingredients” and bringing “authentic flavours from the kitchen cupboard to everyday cooking,” as demonstrated in their West African initiatives.
To add voice to the programme, Nollywood stars like Ngozi Nwosu, Blessing Obasi, and Uzo Osimkpa aligned with the project, underscoring the cultural significance of the forum.
Reflecting on her participation, Osimkpa connected the event to her personal history.
She said: “For my mother, it wasn’t just a tradition; it was a duty. To be a part of MAGGI August Meeting is more than participation; it is a privilege, a way to honour my mother’s legacy, and a testament to the enduring strength of Igbo womanhood.”
This celebrity endorsement wasn’t just marketing—it was cultural validation that resonated with Nestlé’s approach to nutrition education.
As Stefan Palzer, Chief Technology Officer, who leads Nestlé’s research and development activities, had noted at a Nestlé dialogue, consumer education required familiar, trusted voices and ingredients that people recognised from their own kitchens.
The partnership demonstrated how global brands could authentically engage with local traditions.
Rather than imposing external solutions, MAGGI amplified existing community structures, proving that transforming food systems at scale takes collective action, bold partnerships, shared ambition and long-term commitment.
Counting the success of the 2025 August Meeting engagement, the partnership between this grassroots powerhouse and MAGGI had engendered a shared value revolution, economic empowerment, nutrition enlightenment and provided an avenue to align with tradition.
It thus created a unique model of sustainable development, whereby community is held together by custom and corporate partnership.
In metrics, no fewer than 8,100 women were reached, 18 locations activated, and countless families empowered with new skills, gifts and resources.
Blessing Obasi, at Oji River, Enugu, said that August Meeting wasn’t just an event, but was about culture, community and legacy, describing the 2025 MAGGI Partnership edition as unique and impactful.
Mrs Joan Ukachukwu, a participant in Imo, commended the programme.
She further said that through empowerment initiatives, the full potential of women could be unlocked to foster a brighter future.
“When a woman is well empowered, a generation is empowered,” she said.
Mrs Obidiya Onuoha from Abia, described the meeting as a time of learning, reflection, unity, and progress for the women of the area.
She urged the women to use the skills and knowledge they acquired as a pathway to self-confidence, independence, and a brighter future, saying that women played a vital role in socio-economic growth.
Generally, Gov. Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, described women as drivers of change and economic development.
Nwifuru, at the grand finale of the 2025 Ebonyi Women’s August Meeting , represented by the deputy, Mrs Patricia Obila, asserted that women were actively challenging existing norms, breaking barriers, and fostering a more equitable and sustainable world as agents who inspire change.
In conclusion, cultural heritage, when strategically supported by brands like MAGGI, rather than being replaced, becomes the most effective blueprint for empowerment and modern development.
The MAGGI August Meeting partnership showed how women, given platforms and resources, could become indispensable agents of change—addressing everything from family welfare, nutrition, health, economic empowerment to infrastructure development.
The August Meeting will always continue, but now it carries the flavour of possibility—seasoned with tradition, enriched with partnership, and served with a generous helping of hope for tomorrow.
MAGGI didn’t just sponsor an event; they seasoned a tradition with innovation, creating a replicable model where grassroots wisdom and corporate responsibility work together.
In doing so, they proved that the most authentic way to build stronger families and communities is to honour the structures that have sustained them for generations, while providing the “recipe’’, “ingredients’’, “seasoning’’, “flavour’’, “utensils’’ and indeed tools to carry them boldly into the future.
It is about creating shared value for the society at large. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Oluwafunke Ishola
