The Federal Government says that it has disbursed over N66 billion to 1.258 million Nigerians under its Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Survival Fund and Guarantee Off-Take Scheme.
This was made known by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, at a town hall meeting of beneficiaries of the MSME Survival Fund and the Guaranteed Off-Take Scheme in Abuja.
The meeting which set out to highlight the scheme’s achievements in the country as well as receive beneficiaries’ feedback on all tracks of the scheme, took place simultaneously in Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Enugu and Edo states.
Katagum said that the scheme from the federal government was initiated to stimulate the economy after the Covid-19 lockdown, especially for small and medium-scale businesses and self-employed individuals previously gainfully employed.
Katagum said that the implementation of the survival fund across the five tracks yielded positive results, with the tracks namely Payroll Support Scheme, Artisan and Transport Scheme, Formalisation Support Scheme, General MSME Grants Scheme, and Guaranteed Off-take Scheme.
FG Disburses Over N66 Billion To 1.258 Million Nigerians Under MSMEs Survival Fund
She said, “Under the Payroll Support Scheme, the target was to augment the payroll obligations of MSMEs in the health, production, education, hospitality, and food production sectors.
“In total, 490,408 employees received between N30,000 and N50,000 as three months’ salaries in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Artisan and Transport Scheme was designed to provide a one-off N30,000 grant to 333,000 beneficiaries.
“We currently have 398,260 self-employed individuals and MSMEs who have benefitted across the 36 states and the FCT.’’
Katagum added that the CAC Formalisation Support Scheme had achieved 100% as 250,000 businesses had been successfully registered across the 36 states and the FCT.