The Federal Government has said it has so far disbursed over N462.2 billion to strengthen the Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operations in the country.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, disclosed details of the funding actions at the third Annual Lecture Series of the Development Bank of Nigeria, DBN, in Abuja last week.
According to him, “In the development of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) some provisions were made to support MSMEs.
“These include: a N250 billion grant containing a N50 billion MSME de-risking facility component; a payroll support scheme providing up to N50,000 in monthly salaries for up to 10 staff of qualifying businesses for a duration of three months – 1.5 million jobs have been retained through the MSME and payroll support.
“Others are, a one-off grant of N30,000 for 333,000 self-employed persons working as transporters and artisans under the Artisan and Transport Scheme; a N50,000 grant for 100,000 MSMEs; provision of financial backing up to N191 billion in loans to 34,144 MSMEs and capacity building of 125 MSMEs and loan guarantees for 1,748 businesses to the tune of N6.2 billion”
Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, expressed concern over the relatively poor MSMSEs’ contributions to the nation’s exports.
His words, “The relatively low contribution of MSMEs to exports is concerning given their significant contribution to nominal GDP and for this reason, urgent steps are being taken to alleviate the binding constraints limiting MSME participation in cross-border trade.
“It is mperative to ensure MSMEs are supported in the acquisition of skills and tools to run their businesses efficiently, manage risks and gain access to finance at competitive and affordable rates”.
He commended DBN for providing N482 billion to 208,000 MSMEs, mostly owned by women entrepreneurs, in 2021.