The Federal Government has announced that over 100,000 nano-businesses nationwide have received an initial disbursement of N50,000 each through the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme, also known as the Trade Grants Scheme.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this during an exclusive interview with Punch on Friday.
Nano-businesses, as defined by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), typically consist of one or two workers and generate an annual turnover of less than N3 million.
About the disbursement of the N50,000 presidential grant
The disbursement, which commenced a few weeks ago, is set to benefit 1,291 nano-businesses per Local Government Area.
The Trade Grants Scheme, part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme, was announced by the Federal Government in December 2023, with an allocated fund of N200 billion through the Bank of Industry to support manufacturers and businesses nationwide.
Originally scheduled to launch on March 9, 2024, the Trade Grant Scheme provides financial grants without repayment obligations to eligible small business owners in various sectors, including trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creative, and artisans.
Minister Uzoka-Anite confirmed that while distribution has begun, verified applicants will receive their grants in subsequent phases as the ministry continues to receive verified data from the states.
Aniete said, “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 (BVN) and their National Identification Number (NIN).
“So those who were successfully verified on the nature of their business and all other criteria have been able to get some of the initial disbursement.
Beneficiaries of the trade grants
She said the target of the scheme is 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.
“So far, the disbursement has hit about 100,000 small businesses and they have gotten the initial disbursement and the target remains one million.
“Disbursement is still ongoing and we are still waiting for data from across all the states and it is an ongoing process,” the minister stated.
This development follows President Tinubu’s announcement of grants for manufacturers and small businesses eight months prior, and recent directives for applicants to submit their NINs as part of the application requirements.
The grants aim to mitigate the adverse effects of recent economic reforms on businesses across the country.