FG set to launch MSME clinic in Kogi

Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, will launch the Marketmoni/Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) clinic on Tuesday, February 13, 2017.

The clinic will serve as a delivery tool for the development and escalation of small and medium enterprise across Nigeria.

Adoga Ibrahim, senior special adviser to Yahaya Bello, Governor, Kogi state, on Multilateral Donor Agencies and Special Projects/Focal Person on Social Investment Programme who made this known in Lokoja on Thursday, February 8, said it is under the federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (SIP).

Ibrahim said there would be training, capacity building, collaborative and interactive programme to assist the small scale businesses.

He also said that the MSME clinic would attract over 27 parastatals associated with the growth of small and medium enterprises and open up opportunities for various businesses in the state.

The agencies include: BOI, BOA, CAC, FIRS, CBN, NAFDAC, CPC, SON, SMEDAN and all commerce-related organisations.

“Registration started recently and we already have about 105 businesses that have registered.

“We are building structures, platforms and foundations that will enable the SMEs have confidence in what they are doing and also grow their businesses.

“It is 70percent for women and 30percent for men. The SMEs will interact and showcase their businesses to the parastatals which will find a way of supporting them,” he said.

“We will also disburse additional loans of N50, 000 to 7000 people under the GEEP/Marketmoni programme to enable beneficiaries to boost their businesses or start new ones.

“These people have been pre-qualified, their data obtained and forwarded to Bank of Industry (BoI) and accounts opened for them,” he added.

The focal person added that about 20,000 beneficiaries of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) in Kogi were already getting a total of N100 million monthly.

VICTORIA NNAKIAIKE, Lokoja