Over 100,000 nano-businesses nationwide have received the 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, revealed this in an exclusive conversation with our correspondent on Friday.
Nano businesses, defined by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria as enterprises with one or two workers and an annual turnover of less than N3 million, are the primary beneficiaries of this scheme.
According to the minister’s aide, Terfa Gyado, the disbursement, which began a few weeks ago, aims to reach 1,291 nano businesses per Local Government, totaling one million businesses across the 774 Local Governments in Nigeria, including the six council areas in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Federal Government announced the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme in December 2023 as part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme to support small businesses.
The scheme, with a fund totaling N200 billion, is disbursed through the Bank of Industry to manufacturers and businesses across various sectors, including trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creative, and artisans.
Initially scheduled to take off on March 9, 2024, the Trade Grant Scheme provides financial grants without repayment obligations to eligible small business owners. The recent announcement confirms that the distribution has commenced.
The grants, totaling N50,000 per applicant, are directly deposited into beneficiaries’ accounts after thorough verification using their Bank Verification Number and National Identification Number. The verification process ensures that the applicants meet the criteria of owning a nano business.
The minister emphasized that the disbursement is an ongoing process, with subsequent phases planned as the ministry continues to receive verified data from the states.
This development comes eight months after President Tinubu announced the grant for manufacturers and small businesses and two weeks after applicants were directed to submit their National Identification Numbers (NINs) as part of the requirements to obtain the grant, which aims to cushion the effects of recent economic reforms on businesses in the country.
