The Federal Government, on Tuesday, disbursed N250,000 unconditional grants each to outstanding business owners in Ondo State, as part of ongoing efforts to empower Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
Vice President Kashim Shettima announced the disbursement of the grants during the launch of the seventh Expanded National MSME Clinics in Akure, Ondo State.
This was disclosed in a press statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha.
The statement noted that Shettima said creating an enabling environment for MSMEs in Nigeria was central to the economic policy of the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The Vice President also described the N250,000 grant as a gift from Nigerians, through the government, to the champions of local industry.
“I am also pleased to announce today, in line with President Tinubu’s unwavering support for grassroots enterprises, that every outstanding exhibiting MSME identified during this clinic will receive an unconditional grant of N250,000.
“This is not a loan. It is a gift from the Nigerian people, through their government, to the champions of local industry. It is our way of saying: we see you, we value you, and we believe in your journey,” he declared.
The Vice President noted that because MSMEs account for over 90 per cent of businesses in Nigeria, contributing over 45 per cent to the national economy and employing more than 60 million Nigerians, they are not only economic actors but also “the silent architects of survival, the lifelines of households, the pulse of every community”.
Explaining why MSMEs are central to the economic policy of the Tinubu administration, VP Shettima maintained that while they are the true engine of poverty alleviation, no sustainable effort to reduce poverty could be achieved without the jobs and opportunities they create.
Nigeria’s national prosperity, according to the VP, is entwined in the success of MSMEs, and the nation cannot grow its economy without empowering them.
He continued, “This is why the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu places the creation of an enabling environment for MSMEs at the heart of our economic policy. It is not rhetoric. It is a call to action. It is a covenant with the builders of our future.
“This administration is deliberate in walking the talk, and one of the ways we do so is through platforms such as the MSME Clinics, conceived to draw the Federal Government closer to the creators of jobs, the innovators, the dreamers who make things happen in our communities.”
Underscoring the essence of launching the Expanded MSMEs Clinic in Ondo State, the Vice President said they offered small businesses in the state an unprecedented opportunity “to engage directly with regulatory agencies, financial institutions, and business support organisations.”
Shettima also outlined other interventions under Tinubu’s administration to include the creation of a N75bn MSME Intervention Fund being administered by the Bank of Industry, N50bn Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme to support one million nano businesses across the 774 local government areas of Nigeria with grants of N50,000 each, and N75bn Manufacturers Fund for manufacturers to access up to N1bn in funding at a nine per cent interest rate.
He said the idea was to ensure the challenges of small business owners “find answers, not in theories or wishful thinking, but in real-time, face-to-face, problem-solving conversations.”
He also assured that MSMEs remained the centre of economic vision of the Tinubu administration, urging small business owners “to take full advantage of the opportunities before them by engaging with the agencies present, seeking guidance, asking questions, and seizing every chance to elevate their businesses.
He thanked the government of Ondo State for its partnership on investments in infrastructure, commending the state’s commitment to policies that welcome innovation and enterprise, as well as its support for local industry, which align perfectly with the federal government’s “broader agenda for a prosperous, inclusive economy.”
Earlier, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had said the state government was in alignment with the initiative of the Federal Government to drive MSME development.
He said the state was implementing schemes to enable small businesses to address challenges inhibiting their growth.
He pointed out that his administration’s seven-point agenda, which prioritises MSME growth and development, has been impactful and has resulted in successes across different sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and fashion, among others.
Acknowledging the determination of President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima to support growth in the sector, Aiyedatiwa said, “Your presence here today demonstrates your unwavering commitment to the development of our state and key sectors of our nation’s economy.
“Your interest in promoting MSMEs across Nigeria has changed the fortunes and stories of small businesses across our country, and we remain grateful.”
Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State appreciated the Federal Government, particularly the Vice President, for personally driving the initiative of the clinics.
He acknowledged that the Ekiti edition of the clinics had been impactful and remained invaluable, as businesses have continued to benefit from the network created through the programme.
Oyebanji said the programme is the first attempt by any government in Nigeria to align growth to development through a deliberate and direct interface between facilitators and small business operators across the country.
In his welcome address, the Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSME, Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, said the clinics have so far been very impactful, given the testimonials from operators in the sector.
He noted that the edition in Ondo State would not be different, as MSMEs were already interacting with regulatory agencies and partners to resolve issues affecting the growth of their businesses.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, acknowledged the contributions of the Vice President and Aiyedatiwa to the growth of the MSME sector in the state, urging all stakeholders to support and promote made-in-Nigeria products as part of the broad plan to support budding entrepreneurs across the country.
The Director General of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Mr Charles Odii, said that through the clinics, the Tinubu administration’s agenda for small businesses is being actualised, as evidenced in the feedback received from participants at the Ondo clinics.
The high point of the occasion was the tour of the products exhibition by small business operators in Ondo and beyond by Vice President Shettima, accompanied by the governors of Ondo and Ekiti, among other dignitaries.
Earlier, while addressing the traditional council in their chamber, Shettima thanked the Ooni of Ife, describing him as a bridge builder who is endeared by the Tinubu administration.
He told the traditional council that President Tinubu, “being a son of the South West, is a man of courage who means well for traditional institutions.”
Shettima noted that the President was aware of the condition of the people across the country, and had summoned the courage to remove fuel subsidy, stop multiple taxation and open the Lagos-Badagry-Calabar Highway for economic activities along that corridor,” among many other policies of government to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
The Chairman of the Ondo State Council of Chiefs, Oba (Dr) Ajibade Gbadegesin, commended Tinubu for removing fuel subsidy, noting that this has enabled the Federal Government to deploy the subsidy funds to other sectors of the economy for which Ondo State is a beneficiary.
He also commended the government for being focused and pledged the support of the traditional council to the success of government policies, both at the national and Ondo state levels.
The Punch
