700,000 manufacturers and micro, small and medium enterprises have

expressed intention to become beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s

N150bn loan to help businesses in Nigeria to navigate the current economic

crunch.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Aniete, who disclosed

this stressing that the ministry was working tirelessly to ensure prompt

release of the fund to eligible businesses, while, over 630,797 citizens have

benefitted from the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme

This is coming after in December 2023, the Federal Government unveiled the

Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme as part of the Presidential Palliatives

Programme aimed at supporting businesses to navigate the economic

crunch caused by government policies, and the fund dedicates N75 billion to

MSMEs and another N75 billion to the manufacturing sector.

The minister, speaking through her Special Adviser, Strategic

Communications, Terfa Gyado, said, the disbursement would be done in

batches with the first set of disbursement to commence soon, adding that,

the government was well aware of the current business climate and created

the fund to help Nigerian businesses navigate the harsh economic

conditions.