No fewer than 40,000 Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), as well as artisans, in Katsina State will benefit from the Federal Government’s N75 billion survival fund aimed at cushioning the effect of COVID-19.
The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Radda, said the support would be given under the National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) in which 500,000 MSMEs and 333,000 artisans across the country would receive funds.
Dr. Radda, who disclosed this in Katsina during a town hall meeting with the leadership of trade unions to sensitise them on the initiative, said the conditions for accessing the funds were friendly, and he encouraged all to apply in order to benefit from the largesse.
Earlier, the DG was at the closing ceremony of a vocational entrepreneurship training and development programme under the National Business Skills Development Initiative which is being implemented in 11 states, including Katsina.
He said Katsina secured 115 slots from the total of 1,397, adding that the initiative was designed to provide entrepreneurship skills and provide empowerment materials to fill the capacity gap of the youths.