Business
N50,000 presidential grant: 100,000 small businesses benefit in first phase
N50,000 presidential grant: 100,000 small businesses benefit in first phase
A total of 100,000 small businesses across the country have so far received a presidential grant of N50,000 under the first phase of the Trade Grants Scheme.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this, adding that one million nano businesses would benefit from the scheme.
A report by Saturday Punch quoted the minister as saying this through her aide, Terfa Gyado, in an interview with the newspaper.
Newstrends notes that the grant aimed at driving sustainable economic growth at the grassroots level will be disbursed with 70 per cent going to women and youths, 10 per cent individuals with disabilities, and five per cent senior citizens, and the remaining 15 per cent allocated to other groups.
Bank of Industry (BOI) was appointed as the executing agency for the funds.
The minister said the disbursement which began a few weeks ago would be distributed to 1,291 nano businesses in each of the 774 local governments in the country.
The Federal Government in December announced the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme to empower small businesses as part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme.
It said a total of N200 billion would be disbursed through the BoI to support manufacturers and businesses across the country.
Aniete, giving an update on the scheme, said all verified applicants would receive their grants in subsequent phases.
The minister said, “The Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme kicked off a few weeks back and disbursement has been made to the first batch.
“Each grant applicant gets N50,000 while the applicants are judged by the criteria of owning a nano business and being verified using their Bank Verification Number and their National Identification Number.
“So those who were successfully verified on the nature of their business and all other criteria have been able to get some of the initial disbursement.”
The minister said the grant was paid directly to beneficiaries’ accounts after proper verifications with a target to reach one million small businesses in the 774 LGs and the six council areas in the Federal Capital Territory.
“The target is for one million nano businesses across the 774 local governments across the federation and that works out to a total of 1,291 nano businesses per local government and that is how the spread is going to be.
“So far, the disbursement has hit about 100,000 small businesses and they have got the initial disbursement and the target remains one million. “Disbursement is still ongoing and we are still waiting for data from across all the states and it is an ongoing process.”
Business
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.
Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.
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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”
He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.
“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
Business
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.
This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.
The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.
He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.
The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.
Business
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.
The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.
The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.
“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”
Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.
Employment rate – 76%
The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.
“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.
Self-employment – 85.6%
The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.
It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”
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