Kwara begins disbursement of ₦160.55m NG-CARES grants to small businesses

The Kwara State Government has begun the disbursement of ₦160.55 million in grants to small and micro-scale businesses under the first tranche of the Kwara NG-CARES RA3 Operational Grant programme.

The disbursement was flagged off on Tuesday, 30 August, with the government saying that 688 businesses across the state’s 16 local government areas would benefit from the intervention.

According to the programme details, 45 small-scale businesses are to receive ₦700,000 each, while 623 micro-scale businesses will receive ₦200,000 each.

Speaking at the event, the General Manager of the Kwara State Social Investment Programme, KWASSIP, Abdulquawiy Olododo, described NG-CARES as a World Bank-assisted emergency recovery programme being implemented by the state government to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.

Olododo said the programme was also designed to provide economic relief, support business recovery, and improve employment opportunities in the state.

He said the Operational Grant would be followed by the Credit Grant and Information Technology Enhancement Grant.

According to him, the intervention forms part of the state government’s efforts to improve the business environment and make it easier for enterprises to operate in Kwara.

The Acting Technical Head of NG-CARES for MSMEs RA3, Rukayat Yahaya, urged beneficiaries to use the grants for operational expenses, employment retention and the continued running of their businesses.

She said the funding was designed as an emergency recovery intervention to help businesses overcome some of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yahaya added that the Operational Grant would be followed by the Credit Grant, aimed at easing financial constraints faced by micro and small enterprises, as well as the IT Enhancement Grant, which is intended to improve their technological capabilities.

Cheques were presented to beneficiaries by government officials and other dignitaries, including the Deputy Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Adetiba Olanrewaju Rafael; the Commissioner for Finance, Florence Oyeyemi; and the Commissioner for Business, Innovation, and Technology, Ibrahim Akaje.

In his closing remarks, Akaje encouraged beneficiaries to make effective use of the opportunity and to guide other business owners on how to access similar government-supported interventions.

Oyeyemi, meanwhile, commended the government and the programme’s implementing unit for what she described as a transparent process.

She urged beneficiaries to make productive use of the support and described the intervention as a significant initiative for businesses in the state.