Ogun State Government has disclosed plans to commence the disbursement of the first phase payment of N1billion operational Grant to Micro and Small Scale Enterprises (MSEs) operators.
While announcing the development during a stakeholders’ meeting held in Abeokuta on Thursday, the State commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser, Dapo Okubadejo, stated that over 3,500 successful micro and small business applicants would get a maximum of 100 and 350 thousand naira respectively, under the State COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (OG-CARES) programme.
The commissioner also added that there would be periodic verification by independent agents after disbursement to ensure that beneficiaries deploy the grant judiciously and ensure continuity of their businesses, further assured the state that the selection process would be transparent and fair as priority would be given to women, youths and persons living with disabilities.
Explaining why the MSEs operators were selected across the 20 local government areas of the state, he said, “The World Bank-backed grant was to facilitate recovery and enhance capabilities of MSEs for employment retention and job creation in the post COVID-19 era.
“The reverberating effect of COVID-19 which is yet to abate and had affected several businesses, especially small and micro enterprises, not only in the state but the world at large, informed the state government intervention.”
