Lagos approves N1.7bn for 1,400 entrepreneurs

…targets 23,000 start-ups by December 2017

Through the N25 Billion Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), the Lagos State government has so far approved the disbursement of N1.7 billion to 1,400 enterprises in the state.

The state government is also targeting to fund at least 23,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) before December 2017.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos weekend, Akin Oyebode, executive secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, said the state was expecting to fund 100,000 entrepreneurs and create one million jobs by 2019.

“We have launched our online portal to ensure that people can apply for loans online. We have 20 liaison offices where applicants can go,” Oyebode said.

The Lagos State government recently launched the N25 Billion Employment Trust Fund to inspire the creative and innovative energies of Lagos residents and reduce unemployment across the state.

The Fund has the mandate to directly invest N25Billion in helping Lagos residents grow and scale their MSMEs while acquiring skills to get better jobs.

There are three levels of loans catered by the Fund: the Micro Enterprise Start-Up Programme, the Micro Enterprise Programme and the Small and Medium Enterprise Programme.

Loans are provided for applicants of the Micro Enterprise Start-Up Programme for one year at five percent interest rate. However, an applicant is expected to provide a guarantor, tax registration details, training certificate and government-approved ID card. The applicant can get a maximum of N250, 000 loan in this category.

For the second level, the applicant can access up to N500, 000 at five percent and will be required to show a bank statement as well as details highlighted on the first loan category.

For the third category known as the Small and Medium Enterprise Programme, the applicant-entrepreneur can access between N500,000 and N5 million, but he/she must provide six months statement of account from a bank, two guarantors, LASRA tax evidence and a statement showing how the fund will be utilised.

“The rigorous process here is to identify those who are genuine,” the executive secretary said.

According to him, the LSETF was not focusing on specific sectors at the moment.

“We will not focus on specific sectors at the moment. We will, at the end, look at the sectors that give us more impact in terms of job creation and resilience,” he stated.

He stated that LSETF was working with other government agencies to tackle issues of ease of doing business to ensure that entrepreneurs of the scheme were not hampered by usual limitations.

He added that the Fund was working with other partners, including deposit money banks and micro finance banks with state licenses, adding that his team started by looking at other funds that failed in the past and analysed why they did not make success to avoid making familiar mistakes.

ODINAKA ANUDU