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Distribution of N75bn support fund begins this week- FG
By Modupe Shodeinde
The Federal Government will start disbursing grants to successful Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises from the N75bn COVID-19 support schemes, this week.
The government, in a bid to support MSMEs, had inaugurated the National MSME Survival Fund and the Guaranteed Off-take Stimulus Schemes under the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan on September 10, 2020.
These two schemes were inaugurated to provide financial sport for 1.7million MSMEs across the nation with the sum of N75bn.
The Special Assistant to the President on MSMEs, Office of the Vice President, who is also the Project Coordinator, Survival Funds Scheme, Tola Adekunle, on Monday, said disbursement to some beneficiaries would start this week.
“Presently we are doing it in batches of 12 states to be able to monitor the scheme and as we speak now 12 states are ready. We are hoping that by the end of this week, we will be able to pay 12 states.
“We are starting with the artisans and it is 4,500 persons per state, plus 4,500 for transporters, bringing it to about 9,000 for each state. Right now, we have about 54,000 from 12 states.” he said.
He also explained that those on the payroll support scheme would start getting their payments by the end of the month.
According to him, the payroll support schemes targets businesses that have between 10 and 50 staffs.
Adekunle said, “We now pay 10 of those people from among the 50 employees and we pay them between N30,000 and N50,000.
“But the minimum we pay is three staffs for three months to support their businesses and to ensure that we are helping businesses to augment their salaries.”
He said that the payroll support was inaugurated on the 21st of September. The portal opened on the same day and was shut on October 15.
He added that a number of states had not met their quotas and this had led to a demand for an extension, but this decision, he said “lies in the hands of the committee”
According to him as at the day the portal closed, about 432,000 businesses had applied but only 70,000 businesses that qualified were shortlisted.
