“FG Approves”: CBN to Disburse N60 Billion to Nigerian Youths, Small Business Owners
- The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the disbursement of N60 billion to Nigerian small business owners
- The minister of Youth, Jamila Ibrahim, said the fund is targeted explicitly at young Nigerian business owners
- She said the fund will enable them to scale their businesses and provide essential services, especially in the agricultural sector
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the disbursement of N60 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Agric Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme to enhance small business growth, especially among young Nigerian business owners.
The minister of Youth, Jamila Ibrahim, said this in a statement on Monday, March 25, 2024, after the FEC meeting in Abuja.
Source: UGC
The fund would be targeted at young people
Ibrahim said that funding from the CBN would give essential support to growing businesses operated by Nigerian youths, providing significant relief and allowing them to strengthen and scale up their businesses
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Also, the minister said that the FEC approved restructuring the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund to institutionalise it through a legal procedure, which allows for the establishment of the Nigeria Youth Fund.
She stated that the fund, founded in 2020, amounted to N75 billion, with an annual disbursement of N25 billion, and is meant for youth-led and youth-owned businesses operating in critical sectors.
Per the minister, FEC has also authorised the immediate release of N25 billion from the 2023 Appropriation Act and another N25 billion from the 2024 Appropriation Act under the Youth Development Fund.
She said:
“We also received additional approval from the Council for an N60 billion release from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Agric Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme. This will go a long way in supporting young businesses and bringing a lot of assistance to young people to strengthen and scale young companies.
FG rolls out many empowerment schemes for youths
According to reports, the minister stressed the importance of a unique approach in executing the new Youth Investment Fund.
She said the fund includes formation clusters, which aim to provide mutual assistance among young business owners, allowing them to serve each other.
She said that the FEC has approved a 30% youth quota in all government appointments to ensure fair representation of young women in this quota.
The Nigerian government has recently targeted Nigerian youths through its various intervention schemes.
The government, via the Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, launched the 3MTT initiative to train three million Nigerians, especially youths, in technology.
The initiative has successfully graduated the first cohort, with the second batch prepping to begin.
Also, the Ministry launched an N10 million agric initiative to lure Nigerians into farming via technology.
FG targets 3m Nigerians for tech talent scheme
Legit.ng previously reported that Bosun Tijani, the minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, revealed that over one million applications had been received for its Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme.
The minister announced the development via his post on X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, November 6, 2023.
According to Tijani, the next step for the applicants would be announced in the following 12 hours.
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Source: Legit.ng
