Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa on Tuesday advised beneficiaries of the state’s monthly empowerment grants for Small and Medium Enterprises Schemes (SMEs) to invest and not tamper with their capital.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Diri gave the advice while speaking at monthly disbursement ceremony for 840 SME grant beneficiaries at Banquet Hall, Yenagoa.
Bayelsa government disbursed grants of N200,000 each to four beneficiaries, two women and two youths, drawn from the 104 wards in the state.
The ceremony was for the months of January and February.
Diri said that the policy of encouraging growth and expansion of SMEs across the state was strategic and deliberate, to spread prosperity through entrepreneurship.
He noted that his administration was mindful of the need for human capital development to complement massive investment on infrastructure, especially roads and bridges to connect all parts of the state to the state capital.
“Do not eat your seed, plant it and watch it grow, it might be small but I can tell you that most big businesses you see today had humble beginnings.
“This is a well thought out policy to spread the prosperity that our administration is noted for and so we are not just talking prosperity, we are walking and working prosperity,” Diri said.
Earlier, Mrs Faith Opuene, Bayelsa Commissioner for Women, Children Affairs and Empowerment, explained that the policy had been implemented for 11 months with 2,310 beneficiaries so far.
She recalled that at inception, the programme captured 210 beneficiaries, one woman, one youth per Ward but the governor saw the need to touch more lives and hence increased the slots to 420.
Opuene, who is Chairperson of the Bayelsa SME Empowerment committee, said the scheme was structured with monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to prevent multiple beneficiaries.
She explained that the biodata and biometrics are captured in a database which is used to verify identity of beneficiaries prior to disbursement.
“This programme is the brainchild of our Miracle and Prosperity which the governor meant to strengthen the capital base of their businesses for growth and expansion.
“We in the seven member committee are managing the seed fund capital provided monthly by the state government in a transparent and regulated manner.
“Today the biometrics checks detected seven people who had benefited before and tried to get a second round, they were promptly disqualified.
“The feedback we are getting is very encouraging and this will transform the economy of Bayelsa and change the narrative of a civil service state if only the beneficiaries will invest the seed capital,” Opuene said.
Some of the earlier beneficiaries of the scheme which commenced in February 2022, noted that the injection of additional capital of N200,000 into their small businesses had led to growth.
Mrs Ebiye Yala, a petty trader, noted that her foodstuff business took an upward swing when she got the grant and expanded to stock other food items that she was not selling before.
“My market was mere table but when the grant came I created additional space and I now sell assorted types of food you can think of for your pot,” Yala said. (NAN)
