By Ojugbele Omotunde
No fewer than 2,000 cluster-based businesses are targeted across the 16 local government areas of Kwara State to receive N100,000 each.
This is from the N200 million Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MSMEs) support from the European Union with implementation from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The disbursement of the fund was designed to help grow businesses and mitigate the adverse effects of the hardship that assailed small scale businesses in the wake of the country’s lingering economic downturn.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the project is under the supervision of the office of Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Kwara State Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs Mariam Imam.
A monitoring and evaluation team of UNDP, who arrived in Ilorin on Wednesday, is visiting different parts of the state to ascertain the veracity of the disbursement and beneficiaries of the fund.
Addressing journalists, a representative of UNDP, Joyce Oburu, said the team was in the state to obtain firsthand data on the beneficiaries to ensure that the funds reached the right target.
Oburu said that each of the beneficiaries of the grant would receive N100,000 to enhance small scale businesses in the state.
“We are here in Kwara State to do validation of data set that we have received from the SDG office on a project that is being implemented by UNDP, funded by the EU for MSME support titled ‘Enhancing the Capacity of MSMEs Through Cluster-based Approach’.
“This project is packaged as an economic support to MSMEs in the state. It has different layers that we hope to implement. The first layer is cash grant of N100,000 to about 2,000 MSMEs (operators).
“This fund has been disbursed, and we have come here to see for ourselves that the beneficiaries are real people actually doing businesses in the areas that we were informed they were doing businesses,” she said.
Oburu said that after verification, the next step of the exercise will be training because training, mentorship and coaching are part of the package for the project.
“The SDG has informed us that 99 percent of the beneficiaries have received their funds from the UNDP project support by the EU,” she said.
Also speaking, the SSA on SDG, Imam, explained that the beneficiaries, mostly in need of help, were selected from the three senatorial districts in the state.
She said the choice of cluster-based businesses was to save them from imminent collapse from the current economic hardship in the land.
The Governor’s aide said that the funding opportunity would encourage the beneficiaries to stay afloat in their businesses while also contributing to rebuilding the economy.
She applauded Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for always putting the interest of the state first in his administration’s programmes and policies.
“They (UNDP representatives) are here to monitor, evaluate and also have a field work of the N200 million that we have disbursed to cluster-based businesses in Kwara State.
“We want to use this opportunity to thank the European Union that partnered with the UNDP and also the Kwara State government for this lofty opportunity given to the less privileged and clustered businesses.
“We will be moving across the 16 local government areas. We knew that we cannot go round all the 2,000 people. So, we have picked places like Iloffa, Osi and Offa for Kwara South,” Imam said.
She added that in Kwara North, they picked Edu, Patigi while numerous places were picked for Kwara Central.
“And we have also picked businesses like agriculture, trade, Aso-Ofi weaving, shea-butter and palm kernel processing. Different businesses are to benefit from this programme.
“So far, the disbursement of the funds has taken off, and beneficiaries are expected to receive N100,000 each in their Unity Bank accounts.
“However, the monitoring and evaluation team just came and it will take the entire week to see all the cluster-based businesses just to make sure that we have given the money to the real beneficiaries,” she said.
The UNDP team had earlier met with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Dr Yakub Jaja, who lauded the initiative.