No fewer than 4,144 people benefitted from Federal government rolled our Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP 2.0) which officially rolled out in Imo state on Saturday.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, officially launched the National phase of the programme at the Concorde Hotel, Owerri, on Saturday .
Speaking during the presentation of Cheques to peasant farmers and petty business women, Farouq said the scheme was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s avowed commitment to fight poverty and its devastating impact from all angles.
She said, “The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is a programme designed by President Muhammadu Buhari administration to create further opportunities for the poor, vulnerable and low-income Nigerians, especially those who are involved in viable informal productive activities with limited financial requirements, but have never had access to loans from the formal financial sector.
“It is meant to give priority to the most vulnerable in our society like widows, youth, Persons With Disabilities and the Internally Displaced Persons amongst others.
“4,144 beneficiaries across the 27 Local Government Areas of the State were selected across the 27 LGAs of Imo State to benefit from the interest free loans.
The Minister stated that the beneficiaries are verifiable while the selection process was transparently conducted.
“These selected beneficiaries are now all banked, they have been given ATM cards and are currently being enumerated all of which are our deliberate efforts to enhance financial inclusivity of our poor in a sustainable manner”.
GEEP 2.0 ), according to her, has three unique products; Tradermoni loan of N50,000 is targeted at uplifting the under-privileged and marginalized youths between the ages of 18 and 40 years while MarketMoni loan also of N50,000 is for the under-privileged and marginalized women like Widows, divorcees, and other vulnerable groups.
FarmerMoni loan of between N50,000 to N300,000 is designed for small scale farmers in the communities to improve their agricultural productivity and inclusion into commercial farming.
The GEEP Roll-Out heralds a launch and disbursement of loans in all States.
