The federal government has urged women entrepreneurs to apply for its intervention grant for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to enable them overcome challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Katagum, made the call at a news conference on the implementation process of the survival fund on Tuesday in Abuja. Katagum, who is also the Chairperson, Programme Steering Committee, said the Project Delivering Office (PDO) for the scheme was receiving feedbacks from Nigerians since its registration portal opened on Sept. 21 for applicants.
According to her, the project, which will run for an initial period of three months, has provisions for 45 per cent female-owned businesses and five per cent for those with special needs. She however noted that there had so far been low women enrolment on the scheme, and therefore called on state and local governments, and trade associations to mobilise women to apply for the grant. The minister said: “There is need to mobilise more women because by the design of the programme, we are targeting 45 per cent of women beneficiaries and five per cent for those with special needs.
“I use this medium to encourage more women to apply, and we also urge associations to try assisting their members who do not have access to the internet. If you are a woman, apply and encourage others to apply because this money is there and we want to ensure that it gets to the targeted beneficiaries,” she said. Katagum lauded MSMEs’ performances across the country and urged them to take full advantage of the scheme by applying for any category that suits their needs. She said that although many Nigerians had applied for the grant but there was need for improved awareness creation for MSMEs, especially those in the grassroots to key into it.
According to her, the white list of beneficiaries fully verified for disbursement and payments to the approved block of beneficiaries has also started. She said that disbursements had been approved for a total of 16,253 MSMEs businesses, accounting for a total of 101,567 beneficiaries.
