Beneficiaries of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Survival Fund in the South South on Tuesday commended the Federal Government for relieving them of the hardship brought by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
The beneficiaries at a town hall meeting in Benin described the programme as lives-saving.
Mr Sylvester Obaweki, the Chairman, Amalgamated Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners, Repairers and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) in Edo, said more than 95 per cent of the members that applied for their fund received it.
Obaweki, whose members stormed the venue of the meeting in appreciation of the financial succour, recounted how the fund sustain their businesses.
The ACOMORAN leader said the members, who benefited from the National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), would ever remain grateful to the government.
In his testimonies, Mr Sunday Ogboro of Ogboro Computer Academy, said the government helped to pay four of his five workers for three months under the payroll support track.
Mr Jeff Obaseki-Obasogie, who spoke on behalf of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), also applauded the initiative of the government, but however sought for improvement so that many could also get.
Amb. Mariam Katagum, the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the MSME survival fund, said 203,537 people benefitted from the various tracks under the scheme in the South-South region.
“In the South-South region, the following statistics were achieved – Payroll Support Scheme – 74,030; MSME Grant Scheme, 13,899; Artisan and Transport Scheme, 73,161; CAC Formalisation Support Scheme, 39,636 and Guaranteed Offtake Scheme 2,811.
The minister said that over N66 billion was disbursed for beneficiaries across the country.
Under the first scheme, she said employees received between N30,000 and N50,000 as three months’ salaries, while the beneficiaries in the second one-off N30,000 grant.
She explained that 250,000 businesses successfully registered under the third scheme, with a one-off N50,000 grant given to MSMEs under the fourth scheme.
Mr Tola Johnson, the Special Assistant on the MSME and the Project Coordinator of the survival fund, applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the scheme.
Stakeholders at the meeting described the scheme as apt and timely in alleviating the economic setback brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown.