By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government is set to commence the second phase of its interventions for small business, a N75 billion grant initiative, which is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s economic reform agenda.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, during the Media Activation and Town Hall Meeting on the Federal Government Loan Scheme for Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises and Manufacturing Enterprises.
Mr Idris said the government was targeting the MSMEs with its intervention programmes because they remain the engine of the Nigerian economy, collectively employ over 80 per cent of the nation’s labour force, and contribute nearly half of the national gross domestic product (GDP).
He added that the Tinubu administration was committed to repositioning Nigeria for rapid economic growth and, in doing so, was prioritizing hardworking and energetic entrepreneurs across the country for its intervention schemes.
The Minister clarified that the first phase of the programmes was the N200 billion federal intervention, of which N50 billion has been disbursed as one-off conditional grants, targeted at the nano-businesses segment of the small businesses category.
He said this second phase of N75 billion, was targeting the Micro, Small and Medium businesses category.
“The goal is to diversify the Nigerian economy further, create jobs, promote value-addition, revitalize our communities, and boost exports, and foreign exchange inflows. We are also keen to ensure that these targeted support programs go a long way towards alleviating the pains and challenges being experienced on account of the bold economic reforms being implemented to put our country back on track for sustainable growth and prosperity.
“We fully recognize that these reforms may have caused temporary hardships, especially for vulnerable populations, and we will do everything in our power to cushion the discomfort. These single-digit loan facilities will be complemented by the ongoing tax reforms designed to reduce the tax burden on Nigerian businesses,” he said.
The Minister stated that to ensure no part of the country is left behind, similar town hall meetings are being held simultaneously across the six geo-political zones of the country to gauge the sentiments of MSMEs as well as to mobilize them to take advantage of the interventions to further enhance their businesses.
The Minister stated that, under the Tinubu Social Intervention Programmes, applicants only need to submit their applications to access the interventions, without requiring connections or knowing someone in government.
The Minister also remarked that robust stakeholder engagement was paramount for the successful implementation of government programmes and policies, and commended the Vice President, and the Bank of Industry (BoI) for taking the lead on the laudable programme and for working hard to make it an enduring success.