Segun Babatunde in Bauchi
The Federal Government through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has put in place a robust programme to provide about 333,000 Artisans and Transport business operators with operations grant to reduce the effect of income loss during the COVID-19 and its resultant lockdown in the country.
To this end,each beneficiary of the programme will be provided with the sum of N30,000.00 operations grant to support them on what COVID-19 to their businesses.
The Director – General(DG) of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN),Dr Dikko Radda who was represented by the Northeast Zonal Coordinator of the Agency, Isa Mahmod Dogowa disclosed this yesterday during a Town Hall Meeting/Interactive Sessions with BMOs and Trade Association leaders held at the Destination Hotel,Bauchi.
According to him, “The town hall meeting is aimed at sensitization, encouraging and enlightening the small and medium enterpreses to key or enroll into the MSME survival Fund for Artisan and Transport Support Scheme.
” The town hall meeting will as well provide an interactive sessions with BMOS and trade association leaders.
And this is with a view for them to benefit more from the federal government new intervention policy of COVID-19 pandemic”.
The SMEDAN boss also explained that the survival funds has been approved by the President under the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) to cushion the effect of COVID 19 on the economic activities of the citizens acknowledging that traders and artisans help government in jobs creation.
According to the SMEDAN DG, if government gives every skilled artisan an enabling environment for their skills to be harnessed, poverty would be reduced drastically in the nation.
The DG enumerated the beneficiaries to include tailors, cart pushers, barbers, plumbers, shoemakers, electricians, hair dressers, transport workers and mechanics etc urging them to open banks accounts promising that the money would be paid to them directly.
“The scheme aims to provide 9,009 beneficiaries in each of the 36 states of the federation and FCT by leveraging duly registered and recognized associations would benefit”, he said. END