As part of the Presidential Palliative Programme, the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced the kick-off of two programmes targeted at alleviating the impact of the fuel subsidy removal “ the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme and the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme. This was revealed in a recent press release issued by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, CFA.

In the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme, the Federal Government will disburse a grant sum of N50,000 to nano businesses across the 774 local government areas in the country.

The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) will collaborate with State and Local Governments, Federal Legislators, Federal Ministers, Banks and other Stakeholders.

According to the statement, eligible nano business beneficiaries should be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their local government area, and

provide relevant personal and bank account information, including Bank Verification Number (BVN) for verification of identity. Eligible beneficiaries get more information and apply athttps://www.fedgrantandloan.gov.ng.

For the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme, the Federal Government will likewise disburse N75 billion to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) across various sectors and N75 billion specifically to Manufacturers. The loan shall be administered to the beneficiaries at a single-digit interest rate of 9% per annum.

While MSMEs can access loan facilities up to N1 million with a repayment period of three years, manufacturers can access up to N1 billion to access financing for working capital with a repayment period of 1 year for working capital or five years for the purchase of machinery and equipment.

MSMEs and manufacturers can apply for the loans by submitting their application on the portal provided for the programme athttps://www.fedgrantandloan.gov.ng. The facility would be accessed through their banks, and applicants would be required to meet the risk assessment criteria of their respective banks.

As part of its commitment to promote economic development, entrepreneurship and financial empowerment, the Federal Government believes these initiatives will encourage entrepreneurship and job creation.

Additional information is available on the official website for the programmes “https://www.fedgrantandloan.gov.ng.