FG Set to Complete N50,000 Grant Disbursement Date
The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment has some good news for small businesses in Nigeria. They’re still giving out grants of N50,000 to one million businesses all over the country.
They’re working really hard to make sure they give out all the money by the end of this month.
Doris Uzoka-Anite, who’s in charge of the program, shared this information in a document with questions and answers that she posted on her official social media account.
According to Uzoka-Anite, people can’t apply for the scheme anymore. But if they’ve already applied successfully, they’ll get messages telling them they’ve got the grant sometime between now and the end of May.
“A lot of people have already got their grants, and we’re really thankful for everyone’s patience! If you’re still waiting, just hang in there a little longer.
“We’re still giving out the grants in groups, and we haven’t finished yet. Everyone who’s got the grant coming to them will get messages between now and the end of May. You don’t need to do anything else right now.”
“The website where you could apply closed down at midnight on April 17, 2024.”
“We’re still busy giving out the money in groups. We hope to finish by the end of May 2024.”
“If you missed out on the small business grant, you might be able to get a loan with a low interest rate. You can still apply for that at fedgrantandloan.gov.ng.”
Only one million people will get the grants.
Additionally, the Minister explained that out of over 3.6 million people who applied, only one million will get the grants. She also said that the program is only for that many people.
She explained that they’re not picking who gets the grants based on anything special, just the order they checked the applications in.
She said their goal is to give grants to around 1,290 people in each local government area across the country, aiming for a total of one million recipients.
“We’re not picking who gets the grants based on anything special. We just want to give grants to about 1,290 people in each local government area, totaling one million across the country.”
“To get the grant, you need to have your National Identification Number (NIN), which became important after the first stage of applications. The selection process is random, and it’s all done by computers, from the people who passed both the NIN and BVN checks.”
“Out of the 3.6 million people who applied, only one million will get the grant. That’s the limit based on how much money we have for small businesses,” said Uzoka-Anite.
Background Information
In December 2023, the Federal Government introduced the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme (PCGS) as part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme to help small businesses.
The Trade Grant Scheme started on March 9, 2024. It offers free money to small business owners in different fields like trading, food, technology, transport, arts, and crafts.
The plan is to give 70% of the grants to women and young people, 10% to people with disabilities, and 5% to older people. The rest will go to other groups.
Each person who qualifies will get a N50,000 grant straight into their bank account. They want to help one million small businesses in all the local government areas and council areas in the capital city.
Uzoka-Anite said the scheme will have a big impact across Nigeria, helping one million people.
