By Segun Oye
No fewer than 40,000 people have applied to benefit from the N75 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) survival funds initiated by the federal government.
The applications were coming in barely one day after the registration portal for the fund was opened on Sept. 21 by 10pm.
According to the Project Office, the fund targets to serve 1.7 million beneficiaries across Nigeria.
The MSME survival funds with payroll support scheme for different sectors would start with educational institutions, followed by businesses in the hospitality industry and then small businesses.
The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mrs Mariam Katagum, confirmed that Kano had the highest number of applicants who had registered for the funds.
“As at this morning, we have received 38,000 applicants.,” the Minister said at a Business Advocacy Roundtable Webinar on Tuesday.
She said “The payroll would provide support between N30,000 and N50,000 for 500,000 vulnerable MSMEs to meet their obligations per employee over a duration of three months.
“A total of 250,000 new businesses will get free Corporate Affairs Commission business name registration,’’ the minister said.
Also, 100,000 businesses affected by the pandemic will get N50,000 each and 330,000 artisans and transport business operators would get N30,000 to reduce the effect on loss of income.
Meanwhile, educational institutions interested in the scheme are advised to log on to www.survivalfund.ng to register for the payroll support initiative.
