By Our Reporter
Beneficiaries of the N2 billion investment partnership scheme for
small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) across the 9 Niger Delta States, initiated by the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA), have thumbed up the initiative.
Recall that NDCCITMA had, Monday launched the scheme, in what it said was to “create jobs, energise businesses in the region, support small scale businesses, encourage entrepreneurial ecosystem, create political stability and peace in the region, limit youth restiveness and reduce youth migration.”
Flaging off the scheme in Calabar, the Board Chairman of NDCCITMA, Ambassador Idaere Ogan, who was represented at the occasion by the Cross River State Director of NDCCITMA, Chief Mrs. Bassey Ndem, said “This initiative is a deliberate strategy to grow the economy of the Niger Delta through partnership-driven investments. Our goal is to create jobs, energise local businesses and limit youth restiveness by offering real opportunities for enterprise development.
“With over ₦2 billion to be disbursed to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, NDCCITMA and the NDDC are taking a bold step toward transforming the business landscape of the region.”
The NDCCITMA Chairman explained further that the targeted 1,000 businesses were drawn from various sectors and categories such as nano, micro, small, and medium enterprises.
Ogan noted that investment scheme was in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and backed by several strategic partners including the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, FADAMA and Citi Chambers of Commerce.
He said the scheme offered a monthly return of 0.66 percent with a three-month moratorium to allow beneficiaries stabilize their operations.
In her remarks, the NDCCITMA Director in the State, Chief Mrs Ndem, advised beneficiaries to “demonstrate integrity, commitment and hard work to justify this gesture. We expect those at the nano level to grow to micro, small, medium and ultimately mega enterprises.”
In an interview, a beneficiary, Mrs Uduak Jumbo George, said. “The challenge we have in all the small scale businesses is finances to sustain or grow the business. I am into poultry and mushroom farming.
“Let me thank the NDCCITMA for this initiative for empowering me today to enhance my business. I thank them so much, all the directors, all the people that have made this happen. I’m so grateful.”
Another beneficiary, Mr Tom Irek, who is into Agrobusinesses, said “Let me commend NDCCITMA for this gesture. It will go a long way to expanding my business and with that more hands will be brought in.
“The challenge was getting more funds to expand my business, and God willing, the fund has come. So between now and December, I’m going to be expanding my business 12 times more. I advise young people to get involved in agriculture.
“Agriculture is the future. Nigeria is gradually moving past wild dependency and we need everybody, we need all hands on deck in the agricultural sector, be it livestock, be it crop production, be it even waste management. This scheme, by God’s grace, has come to help us to invest in what would improve our lives.”
PillarToday reports that beneficiaries were given cheques ranging from N3 million to N20 million depending on the nature of their businesses.
