The Government of Nigeria has disbursed N56.8 billion to one million Micro, Small and Medium-Scale enterprises (MSMEs) under the Survival Fund Scheme.
According to the federal government, the beneficiaries of the program cut across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, in Abuja while inaugurating the Guaranteed Off-Take Scheme, a component of the MSME Survival Fund Scheme.
The MSME Survival Fund Scheme was approved by the Federal Executive Council on July 1, 2020, under the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan.
Katagum disclosed that over 85 percent of the targeted beneficiaries had been reached, adding that the federal government has planned to reach the remaining percentage. She also said the implementation of the MSME Survival Fund encompassed the initial four tracks, namely: Payroll Support Scheme, Artisan and Transport Scheme, Formalization Support Scheme and General MSME Grants.
According to her, the schemes had yielded positive results that were verifiable and measurable.
The minister described the impact as huge, adding that a multi-stakeholder team led by officials from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning were in the field conducting an independent evaluation and monitoring of the program.
Under the Payroll Support Scheme, she stated that the government’s initial target was to reach 500,000 beneficiaries, but out of this figure, about 459,334 successful beneficiaries across the 36 States and the FCT had been reached.
She said;
“The Artisan and Transport Scheme had an initial target of 333,000 Artisan and Transport beneficiaries. We currently stand at 293,336 successful beneficiaries across the 36 States and the FCT.
“The CAC Formalisation Support Scheme set out to register 250,000 new businesses and I can report that to date, 244,162 small and growing enterprises have been successfully registered free, across the 36 States and the FCT.
“Also, the General MSME Grants Scheme had its initial target set at 100,000 MSMEs and we have successfully completed the provision of grants to 82,491 till date.
“To date we have successfully disbursed the sum of N56,842,780,000.00 to 1,079,323, including those registered under Corporate Affairs Commission.”
She noted that the success of the scheme caused the launch of the Guaranteed Off-Take Scheme in the Federal Government’s renewed efforts to kick-start the economy and drive the needed growth.
Source: Nyscinfo