Yemi Obafemi
The federal government have confirmed that no fewer than 200,000 small business owners have received the N50,000 grant.
The Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, made the confirmation saying about 3.6 million applications were received out of which the beneficiaries were selected randomly from among those who met the conditions.
She said the government targeted 1,000,000 Nigerians across the 774 local government and 200, 000 people have received credit alert while the remaining 800,000 will get their grants before the close of the programme by May 31.
She said N50 billion is available in the 2024 budget for disbursement.
The programme is one of the palliative measures announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a broadcast on July 31, last year to cushion the pains of petrol subsidy removal.
The President, in the broadcast, said: “Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector.”
