Beneficiaries of the federal government social investment initiative, ‘TraderMoni’ in Niger state have appealed to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to expand the scope of the programme to enable more women participate in the gesture.
The TraderMoni was designed to assist petty traders expand their trade through provision of collateral-free loans of N10,000 which are repayable over a period of six months.
Some of the beneficiaries of the scheme in an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday in Minna, lauded the federal government for the initiative.
Saiq Mohammed, 27, said he intended to inject the funds into his business, adding that he started his vegetable business with N2000.
“With N10,000, I will have to expand the wares to include tomatoes, cabbage, carrots and other items, ” he noted.
Also, Shuaibu Idris, who sells tiger nuts and dates in the market, said he was surprised when he got the alert of N10,000 from the scheme.
“When we were approached by the agents, I was initially reluctant because there were a lot of such initiatives in the past where we were made to register but nothing came out of it in the end,” he explained.
He said there was some level of sincerity on the part of the handlers because unlike in the past where such initiatives are route through political parties offices and officials, the TraderMoni target the beneficiaries directly.
On their parts, Philomena Azile, a widow, and Zainab Abubakar, while commending the federal government for remembering the “indigent” and “vulnerable” through the programme, appealed for its expansion to include more women as a way of closing the gender gap in access to facilities.
‘Its a good scheme no doubt; my entire wares is not up to N5000 but now with N10,000 I can expand the trade.
“As a widow I know of many colleagues who lost their husbands but have no capital to start even pure water business that is why I’m calling on President Buhari and his brother Osinbajo to expand the scope of the scheme to cover more women, ” she appealed.
The Managing Director, SME in the Bank of Industry, Toni Adeniji, said the scheme has already surpassed its target of 30,000 beneficiaries in Niger state, adding that the federal government is doing a lot through the bank in the state.
According to her, the bank has so far, apart from TraderMoni, injected about N400 million into developing Small and Medium Enterprises in the state with about 7,500 persons benefiting.
She said beneficiaries of the TraderMoni scheme can also get access to facility, ranging from N15,000 to N50,000 when they repay the N10,000 within the stipulated period.
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