CBN: N2bn disbursed to over 7,000 beneficiaries under youth investment fund

CBN: N2bn disbursed to over 7,000 beneficiaries under youth investment fund

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says a total of N2.04 billion has been disbursed to 7,075 beneficiaries under the National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

A total of 4,411 beneficiaries were individuals and 2,646 were small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The CBN disclosed this in a communique issued at the end of its two-day monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday.

In 2020, the federal executive council (FEC) had approved a N75 billion youth investment fund targeted at young people between ages 18-35 years and with the ministry of youth and sports development, responsible for budgetary provisions and for funds mobilisation.

The programme financially empowers Nigerian youth to generate at least 500,000 jobs between 2020 and 2023.

The CBN said under the ABP, N631.4 billion was granted to 3,107,949 small holder farmers cultivating 3.8 million of land hectares; N111.7 billion granted to 29,026 beneficiaries under AGSMEIS; and N253.4 billion granted to 548,345 beneficiaries under the TCF, which comprises of 470,969 households and 77,376 SMEs.

CBN said these initiatives were used to inject liquidity into employment generation and enhance growth in the economy.

The apex bank also said N3.19 billion under its creative industry financing initiative to 341 beneficiaries across movie production, movie distribution, music and software development.

It further said that N1.84 trillion has been disbursed to real, healthcare and electricity sectors.

MPC said there is a strong need for the monetary authorities to consolidate on all administrative measures not only to tackle inflation but also on the actions so far taken to grow output.

It added that such measures should include boosting consumption and investments, as well as diversifying the base of Nigeria’s economy through foreign exchange restrictions for the importation of goods and food products that can be produced in the country.