FG begins disbursement of N50b grants to small firms

Beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N50,000 grant for nano business owners have started receiving credit alerts.

Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, who confirmed this at the weekend, said no fewer than 200,000 small business owners have received the payment.

According to her, 800,000 others will get their grants before the close of the programme by May 31.

This will bring the total number of beneficiaries to the targeted 1,000,000 Nigerians spread across the 774 local government areas.

She explained that about 3.6 million applications were received out of which the beneficiaries were selected randomly from among those who met the conditions.

The minister said N50 billion is available in the 2024 budget for disbursement.

The programme is one of the palliative measures announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a broadcast on July 31, last year to cushion the pains of petrol subsidy removal.