The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said yesterday, that over two million micro traders, farmers and artisans across the country will benefit from the Federal Government N500 billion Social Protection programme (SPP) Fund for 2016.
The minister disclosed this while unveiling his vision and action plans for the industrial sector of the economy over the next four years, to Nigerians and foreign journalists in Lagos.
According to him, as part of the Federal Government N500 billion Social Protection programme for 2016, over two million traders, farmers and artisans will receive micro-credit, through a fund to be managed by the Bank of Industry.
“Obviously, this fund is still being rolled out, it is still in the planning stage, so I am not in a position to say how much each company will get; suffice to say that it is going to be a range, you know there is a trade-off of how wide and how deep. “So by saying two million we are targeting a substantial number of beneficiaries and you will see the result, it also means, the fund is not for large enterprises rather it is for micro, artisans and traders.”
