The Federal Government has announced the payment of N30,000 one-time grants to 333,000 artisans across the country as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP)
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Mr Laolu Akande, in a statement, explained the payments were being made to verified beneficiaries of the Artisan Support Scheme, a track under the MSMEs Survival Fund.
In the first stream of payments starting on Tuesday, beneficiaries are being drawn from the FCT, Lagos, Ondo, Kaduna, Borno, Kano, Bauchi, Anambra, Abia, Rivers, Plateau and Delta States. They form the first batch of applications for the scheme submitted between October 1 and October 10.
The MSMEs Survival Fund scheme is a component of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), which was developed by an Economic Sustainability Committee established by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2020.
The President asked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to head the committee, which produced and is overseeing the implementation of the plan.
Under the ESP, the Survival Fund is generally designed to, among other thing, support vulnerable MSMEs in meeting their different obligations and safeguard jobs in the sector.
Applications for the Artisans’ Support Scheme under the MSMEs Survival Fund opened on October 1.
Meanwhile, the enumeration for the second stream of States under the Artisan Support Scheme has also commenced with enumerators in various States compiling the lists of artisans through their association leaders.
All artisans are expected to liaise with their association leaders to document their details.
The registration of applicants for Stream 2 began on the 19th October 2020. States under Stream 2 are: Edo, Ogun, Ekiti, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Enugu, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Taraba, Bayelsa
In the same vein, enumeration and verification of the documents of applicants under the Survival Fund Payroll Support scheme is still ongoing. Dates for the commencement of payment would be announced in due course.
The application process for the payroll support scheme, which began on September 21, had ended on the 15th of October 2020. Accepted applications are categorized by industry sectors, including Education and Hospitality, among other sectors.
However, there may be an extension for applications for some States that have not met their quota on beneficiaries. The Artisan Support Scheme is to benefit about 9,000 Nigerians per State and FCT.
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