Over 100,000 Nano-Businesses Get N50,000 Presidential Grant - Trade Minister Confirms

Over 100,000 Nano-Businesses Get N50,000 Presidential Grant - Trade Minister Confirms

According to reports from PUNCH, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, revealed that more than 100,000 nano-businesses across the Federation have benefited from the initial disbursement of N50,000 each through the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme, also known as the Trade Grants Scheme.

In an exclusive conversation with our correspondent on Friday, Minister Uzoka-Anite, represented by her aide Terfa Gyado, shared details of the ongoing disbursement aimed at supporting small-scale enterprises across Nigeria.

Nano businesses, characterized by having one or two workers and an annual turnover of less than N3 million, have been the primary beneficiaries of this initiative.

According to Minister Uzoka-Anite, the disbursement commenced a few weeks ago, targeting 1,291 nano businesses per Local Government Area.

This scheme, part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme, was launched in December 2023 with an allocation of N200 billion to bolster micro-businesses nationwide.

The Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme kicked off a few weeks back and disbursement has been made to the first batch. Each grant applicant gets N50,000 while the applicants are judged by the criteria of owning a nano business and being verified using their Bank Verification Number and their National Identification Number," Minister Uzoka-Anite explained.

The Trade Grants Scheme, administered through the Bank of Industry, is designed to provide financial support to small business owners operating in diverse sectors such as trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creative industries, and artisanal crafts.

Minister Uzoka-Anite emphasized that the grant disbursements are ongoing, with plans to reach one million nano businesses across the 774 Local Government Areas and six council areas in the Federal Capital Territory.

The target is for one million nano businesses across the 774 Local Governments across the Federation and that works out to a total of 1,291 nano businesses per local government and that is how the spread is going to be," she stated.