The Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has announced a cash reward of N150,000 grant for every exhibitor at the second edition of the national Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) clinic in Ogun State.
Senator Shettima stated this at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, saying over 200 owners of new stores at the Modern Adire Shared Facility at the Adire International Market, Asero, Abeokuta, would also get N100,000 each.
He explained that the MSMEs’ clinic served as a bridge between the people and government, a lifeline for enterprises, which would offer immediate financial support to exhibitors and provide them with the opportunity to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for processing their certificates within a day.
“Each exhibitor present at the clinic today stands to gain from our MSME instant grant of N150,000 each, courtesy of our esteemed private sector and His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, who has directed that almost 200 new applications within this market be granted free of charge to small business traders for one year and each of them should enjoy a grant of N100,000”.
The Vice-President noted that with the committed support of the federal government to enhance enterprises and empowerment, Ogun had become one of the industrial powerhouses of the nation, adding that efforts were underway to bring people closer by placing all regulatory agencies under one group.
He said his visit to the state signified support for businesses towards transforming ideas into commercially viable ventures, saying the second phase of the SMSMEs Clinic was a strategic intervention to fortify the foundation of small businesses, which commenced in Benue State early in the year.
Also speaking, the host Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, said his administration had launched the Small and Medium Enterprises Industrial Land Acquisition Scheme (SILAS), revealing that the scheme was a 1,000 hectares industrial hub, provided with needed amenities like good roads, power, among others.
Prince Abiodun said the SMEs’ park was a platform for providing incentives to entrepreneurs below the market rate, through industrial ownership and accelerated processing of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), which could be used as collateral for further financing.
“Other benefits of the park will include, rebates on taxes and levies such as, land use charges, building permits, land processing fees and so on. This park will cover agro-allied, agro-processing, home and personal care building materials and chemicals and food processing”, he said.
To support the federal government in repositioning the nation’s economy, Governor Abiodun said the government would offer incentives like conditional grants of N100,000 to 10,000 MSMSEs; N500,000 to 2,000 SMEs, while N50,000 would be given to 5,000 market women in the state.
On his part, Special Adviser to the Vice-President on Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Tola Johnson, acknowledged the synergy between the federal and the state governments, saying the clinic was a means of creating jobs for the people, especially the youth, mentioning Ogun and Benue as the two states that had benefited from the programme so far.
Earlier in his address, the state Commissioner for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mr. Adebola Sofela, assured that the clinic would address challenges facing small and medium enterprises in the state, calling on participants to leverage the various issues that would be discussed to grow their businesses.
The Vice-President had earlier commissioned the Modern Adire Shared Facility at Adire International Market Asero and the National MSMEs Clinics, Ultra-Modern Fashion Hub, Ajebo Road, all in Abeokuta.
