President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the sum of N2.5 billion as federal intervention grant to 39,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSME, in Katsina State to boost their capacity, create jobs and drive economic growth.
Vice President Kashim Shettima announced this at the ninth Expanded National MSME Clinic held in Katsina as part of his two-day working visit in the state.
He explained that the N2.5 billion grant included a N250,000 stimulus package to each of the small and medium scale business owners that participated in the MSME exhibition as part of this year’s National MSMEs clinic.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has never backed down from creating a conducive environment for Nigerian MSMEs. This N250,000 grant is non-repayable and demonstrates our commitment to removing barriers that have historically held back our enterprises.
“The Expanded MSME Clinic brings government closer to small businesses, allowing them to engage directly with regulatory agencies, financial institutions including Bank of Industry, Access Bank, and Wema Bank, and support organizations like CAC, NAFDAC, and SMEDAN for on-the-spot solutions.
“23 rural enterprises in Katsina State have accessed over N112 million under the Rural Area Programme on Investment for Development aimed at boosting the capacity of MSMEs to create jobs and contribute to Nigeria’s GDP”, the Vice President sid.
He recalled that the federal government recently launched a N75 billion MSME Intervention Fund through the Bank of Industry, providing up to N5 million in loans to 75,000 MSMEs nationwide at 9 per cent annual interest.
Shettima noted that the federal government had also released the N50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme which provided additional funding to one million nano businesses with N50,000 each across the 774 local governments in the country.
He lauded Governor Dikko Radda for establishing the Katsina State Enterprise Development Agency and the Katsina Enterprise Academy, as well as irgend other state governments to replicate the initiative to drive national economic growth.
On his part, Governor Dikko Radda revealed a six-month post-event mentorship programme for the entrepreneurs that participated in the MSME clinic, noting that so far over 100,000 beneficiaries across the state have received support in the last two years.
The governor noted that Katsina state had established a N5.5 billion MSME fund, with over N1 billion already disbursed to 701 businesses, placing the state at the forefront in enterprise development in Nigeria.
“This clinic will stand out from all others as I have directed KASEDA to work with SMEDAN, BOI, NITDA, NEPC, SON, FIRS, and CAC to provide post-event support to every registered participant”, said Governor Radda.
He also mentioned that every entrepreneur would be enrolled in a six-month business tracking programme and receive continued support to access finance and certification, and have their data integrated into the KASEDA MSME Portal.
The governor disclosed that his administration had completed an MSME census and cluster mapping besides developing a state MSME policy with a five-year strategic plan aimed at creating thousands of jobs in the agricultural and manufacturing value chains.
