The Federal Government has said that it has disbursed N56.8bn to one million Micro, Small and Medium Scale businesses under its MSMEs Survival Fund Scheme.
According to the government, the beneficiaries of the programme cut across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, made this known in Abuja on Tuesday while inaugurating the Guaranteed Off-Take Scheme, a component of the MSME Survival Fund Scheme.
The MSME Survival Fund Scheme which was approved by the Federal Executive Council on July 1, 2020 falls under the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan.
Katagum said over 85 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries had so far been reached, adding that the government intended to reach the remaining percentage.
The minister said the implementation of the MSME Survival Fund encompassed the initial four tracks.
They are the Payroll Support Scheme, Artisan and Transport Scheme, Formalization Support Scheme and General MSME Grants.
She stated that the schemes had yielded positive results that were verifiable and measurable.
Katagum 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 monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.
Under the Payroll Support Scheme, she said the government’s initial target was to reach 500,000 beneficiaries, noting that out of this figure, about 459,334 successful beneficiaries across the 36 States and the FCT had been reached.
Out of this number, she said, the government had impacted 43 per cent female-owned businesses and three per cent businesses of people with special needs.
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 of charge, 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 a total of 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 said the success of the schemes prompted 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.
– Punch