- Targets 45% Female MSMEs
- Requires No Facilitation Fee
By Gbenga Abulude (Politics & General Desk)
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Mariam Yalwaji Katagum on Thursday said the N75bn intervention fund will target 500,000 individual beneficiaries who owned a small business.
She also said that special focus will be given to 45 per cent female owned Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and 5% special needs owned MSMEs.
The Minister who stated this during a press briefing on the national MSMEs Intervention fund in Abuja, said the grant will be given to self employed individuals especially service providers such as bus drivers, taxi drivers, ride share drivers and artisans such as electricians and plumbers.
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Katagum added that applicants are to access the fund at no cost as the initiative was to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
She said the Federal Government, through the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), has commenced nationwide implementation of the National MSME Intervention Fund and the Guaranteed Off-take Stimulus Schemes.
Katagum said, “Applicants are to access the fund at no cost since the initiative is borne out of the Federal Government’s continued commitment to help cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
“The Survival Fund will not at any time or for any reason request payment or facilitation fees to access the grants.
“We will, however, like to draw the attention of the public to attempts by scammers and other undesirable elements to swindle innocent Nigerians with promises of assured disbursements for a fee.”
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Katagum stated that the scheme will support MSME payroll obligations by paying between N50,000 maximum and N30,000 minimum to maximum of ten staff members for three months.
MSMEs in this category are required to have a minimum of three and maximum of 50 staff on their payroll to qualify.
According to the minister, the target beneficiaries are MSMEs in the hospitality industry, private schools, factory owners, law firms and hospitals. General MSME grants are N50,000 grants to 100,000 MSMEs. These groups of beneficiaries are encouraged to take advantage of the registration through MSME associations, registered business clusters, trade associations and unions.
She said, “All successful applicants will receive SMS and email verification with a list of requirement for the second stage of application which will commence on the 1/10/2020. Applicants will be required to upload details supporting their application which will be verified and if successful approved for disbursement.
The following states recorded the highest number of applications in the first 24hours of registration, Kano, 16,880, Kaduna, 11,438, Lagos, 10,530, Katsina, 7,354, Bauchi, 6,622. Highest application for 24/-9/2020 Kano, 19,895, Kaduna, 13,575, Lagos, 13,640, Katsina, 8,383, FCT, 8,085.
Katagum, who is also the Chairperson, Programme Steering Committee, said the Project Delivering Office (PDO) for the scheme has been receiving feedbacks from Nigerians since its registration portal opened on Monday, Sept. 21, for applicants.
Applicants were urged to
1. Log on to http://www.survivalfundapplication.com
2. On the website’s homepage, click on the “Start Here” at the upper right-hand side to see the categories of support available for application: MSME Payroll Support, MSME Grant, and Guaranteed Offtake.
