The Federal Government has expressed its readiness to launch two initiatives aimed at mitigating the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
Over the weekend, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, revealed that the two initiatives include the Presidential Conditional Grant and the Presidential Palliative Loan.
“In the presidential conditional grant programme, the federal government will disburse a grant of N50,000.00 to nano businesses across the 774 local government areas in the country.”
“The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, will collaborate with state and local governments, federal legislators, ministers, banks and other stakeholders.”
“The eligible nano business beneficiaries should be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their local government area, and provide relevant personal and bank account information, including Bank Verification Number, BVN, for verification of identity.”
She mentioned that individuals eligible for the benefits can obtain additional details and submit their applications through the program’s dedicated website.
On the presidential palliative loan programme, Uzoka-Anite said: “The federal government will, similarly, disburse N75 billion to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, MSMEs, across various sectors and N75 billion specifically to manufacturers.”
“The loan shall be administered to the beneficiaries at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum.”
“While MSMEs can access loan facilities up to N1 million with a repayment period of three years, manufacturers can access up to N1 billion to access financing for working capital with a repayment period of 1 year for working capital or five years for the purchase of machinery and equipment.”