Small businesses wait for the FG N50 billion Grant.
Lots of small businesses are waiting for a present of N50 billion from the government. But many of these tiny businesses haven’t gotten any money yet. These small businesses are those with only one or two workers and earn less than N3 million a year, according to a group called SMEDAN.
This money was supposed to start being given out in March. It’s for a million small businesses all over the country. It’s part of a much bigger fund of N200 billion set up by the President to help businesses during tough times.
But some groups say their members haven’t gotten any help yet. Femi Egbesola, who leads the Association of Small Business Owners, said, “None of our 27,000 members have received any money yet.” He thinks just giving N50,000 to small businesses isn’t enough. “Instead of just giving out the money, the government should find better ways to help businesses,” Egbesola said.
Savior Iche, who leads the Association of Micro Entrepreneurs, also said his members haven’t gotten any money. “All we hear about is the money in newspapers, on the radio, and other places. But nobody has actually gotten any money yet,” he said. He thinks many businesses are closing because they can’t keep going.
Gertrude Aikhimien, who leads the Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, said they gave a list of their members who have small businesses. “We filled out the forms they gave us and gave them a list of over a thousand members, but nobody has received any money,” she said. She said NASSI has members all over the country and they’re trying hard to get the money for them.
Seun Olagunju, who works for the Bank of Industry, said they’re collecting details of members from different business groups. He said they’re going to finish giving out the money by the end of May 2024. But they have to check all the details first.
Terfa Tilley-Gyado, a special adviser to the minister of industry, trade, and investment, said they haven’t given out even 20 percent of the money yet. He said they’re still working on it.
The scheme gives money to small businesses that qualify, and they don’t have to pay it back. But they have to be in different areas like trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creatives, and artisans.
Doris Uzoka-Anite, the minister of industry, trade and investment, said they’re done getting applications for the scheme. They’ve already started giving loans to small businesses and manufacturers.
Abdulrasid Yarima, who leads NASME, said some of his members have started getting the money. “But that doesn’t mean others won’t get it. I’m part of the group in charge of giving out the money, and it’s not difficult,” he said. He explained that people just need to fill out a form online with their details, but some are worried about sharing personal information.
Even though the government is trying to help, there are still a lot of problems. Changes made by the government, like removing petrol subsidy and making the value of money lower, have made life more expensive. Olamide Adeyeye, a researcher in Lagos, said it’s really hard for businesses right now.
Small businesses in Nigeria have been struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other problems. They have to deal with things like not enough electricity, high borrowing costs, prices going up, rules that make it hard to do business, changes in the value of money, and lots of taxes.
A recent report said most small businesses close before they’re five years old because of hard times, not being able to get enough money to keep going, and not running their business well. This makes it hard for small businesses to grow and get bigger.
