The Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement Sunday in Abuja revealed that the strategic template would also revamp about 24 million businesses crippled by the President Muhammadu Buhari Presidency and put millions of Nigerians, who had lost their jobs,
back to work.
He added that to ensure a seamless system, the plan articulates the establishment of a platform “for de-risking Small and Medium Scale (SME) lending and increasing the SMEs funding window from N200 billion to N500 billion, as well as simplifying the collateral registration process to unlock the much needed finance for SMEs.”
According to him, “The template is predicated on Atiku Abubakar’s staunch confidence in Nigerians as hard working people, with immense potentials to thrive in all fields of endeavour+, given the right opportunity and conducive business environment.”
Ologbondiyan noted that this critical focus on the SMEs, where a greater population of Nigerians engage in various sectors, captures Atiku’s plan to ensure rapid stimulation of the economy at the base, as well as accelerate the growth of the real sector of the economy to open up self and wage-paying job opportunities.
He explained that this was in addition to the plan to reform and re-introduce the Small-scale Industries and Graduate Loan Guarantee, as well as the Small-Scale Industrial Credit Scheme among others to reduce stress on beneficiary businesses to thrive.
Ologbondiyan stated, “Part of the initiative, as already laid out in Atiku Abubakar’s economy recovery plan, is to facilitate the establishment of a Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Venture Capital Fund, which in collaboration with the private sector will provide longer-term capital for targeted small firms across the states of the federation in various sectors of our economy.”
“This initiative by Atiku will attract a minimum of N90 billion ($250 million) of direct private sector funding for Nigerians in small and medium businesses with strategic windows for increased production and grin various sectors of the economy.”
“This pathway conceptualized by Atiku Abubakar, in his policy document, will give rise to new jobs in commercialized agriculture, manufacturing, ICT, construction and operation of infrastructure (including transportation; electricity, water supply and sewerage, real estate and telecommunications), as well as growth in financial services.”
Ologbondiyan said that it was also in addition to a Financial Innovation Fund, with which Atiku targets to incentivise commercial, micro-finance banks and other financial institutions for innovative solutions for credit to hard working Nigerians in small and medium businesses across our country.