Adeyemi Matthew
Federal Government has initiated the distribution of a N50 billion grant aimed at supporting small businesses throughout the nation.
Charles Odii, the Director General of the Small and Medium
Enterprises Development Agency, made this announcement on Thursday in Asaba,
the capital of Delta State, while speaking to small business owners from the
nine local governments in the Delta North Senatorial District.
Odii noted that the grants are intended for one million
beneficiaries who have completed the online registration process.
He mentioned that he has already visited 14 states to engage
with the beneficiaries and plans to reach the remaining 22 states and the
Federal Capital Territory by the end of the year.
The SMEDAN Director General stressed that the grants are not
designated for members of any specific political party and should not be
politicized, expressing concern over the perceived uneven selection of
beneficiaries in Delta.
He said, “We are in Asaba to speak with small business
owners, mostly youths, who had been selected to benefit from the grant of
N50,000 each, the training programme is to further support them to grow in
their businesses.
“I am being told that in Delta State a lot of benefits
earmarked for small businesses, are only going to one political party.
“That is very wrong, poverty does not know one political
party, poverty does not know sex, poverty does not know age. A hungry man is an
angry man, hunger leads to anger which in turn leads to violence.
“One of the things we are doing, a long term solution is to
help to improve the capacity of our young people. The short term solution is to
give the grants like we are doing right now.”
He urged all government officials to collaborate in order to
maximize the advantages of the initiative for small and medium enterprises
nationwide, emphasizing that the growth of a small business directly
contributes to the prosperity of a family.
“When you feed a small business owner, you feed at least 10
people
“Let us reach out to our young people, and grow our small
businesses. SMEDAN, cannot do it alone,” he said.
Odii urged the state government to collaborate with the
agency in enhancing the capabilities of small business owners, defined as those
employing fewer than three staff members and having an annual turnover below N3
million.
He emphasized that in the long term, these beneficiaries would be introduced to financial institutions, as access to credit facilities requires adequate capacity building. Therefore, their initiative focused on empowering small businesses to unlock access to credit opportunities.