The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, on Monday said the state government would continue to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through empowerment grants for the growth of their businesses.
The deputy governor said this at the 4th edition of the Business Empowerment Grant Programme organised by the Ikoyi-Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA) at Ikoyi, Lagos.
Hamzat said that the initiative was created to empower the grassroots to grow their various businesses in order to move the people out of poverty.
“The small amount of money that some people think is small has helped to move people out poverty,” the deputy governor said.
He emphasised the need for a database for beneficiaries of the empowerment initiative.
“This will help to monitor those that are empowered in order to encourage them to use the money judiciously,” he said
According to the deputy governor, the beneficiaries will be evaluated after six months to know how far they have improved in their businesses.
“I advise the beneficiaries to use the money judiciously.
“Invest the money in your business, use it to grow your business, do not party with it or use it to buy Aso Ebi,” he said
Earlier, the Chairman, Ikoyi-Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Mr Faud Atanda-Lawal, said that MSMEs were important contributors to job creation and economic development.
“MSMEs play a major role in most economies by contributing significantly to GDP, especially in developing countries.
“The empowerment programme was initiated to help reduce financial gap, encourage the hardworking and resilient enterprenuers in Ikoyi-Obalende LCDA.
“I urge the recipients to use the funds efficiently, as every little counts and a little seed will one day become a great tree,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 100 recipients were given N10, 000 while 10 individuals got N100, 000 at the empowerment programme (NAN)
