Private sector to get FG’s N65bn stimulus package

By Ihesiulo Grace 13 July 2020 25 No comment

The Organized Private Sector (OPS) is set to receive a N65 billion stimulus package from the Federal Government in a bid to keep the economy afloat and cushion the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, stated this at a virtual meeting held with members of the OPS which comprises the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) and Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI).

This was disclosed in a statement by Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, Director- General of NACCIMA.

The minister pledged that the government would support and work closely with the private sector in its quest to reboot the economy in the face of the pandemic.

Olukanni stated: “The minister announced that a series of stimulus packages will be made available soon to assist operators in the private sector. These include a N50 billion survival funds for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME); and a N15 billion Guaranteed Uptake Scheme to save 500,000 jobs.

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“He revealed that under some of these interventions, 40% of the funds will be reserved for women-owned businesses.”

The statement further disclosed that Adebayo noted that the private sector has an important role to play in the bid to restart the economy and assured the OPSN of the ministry’s readiness to work closely with them in this regard.

According to Olukanni, the virtual meeting also discussed and agreed that the implementation of projects and programmes under the Economy Sustainability Plan which was recently approved by the National Executive Council will be in close cooperation with members of the OPSN.

The Federal Government through the ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had earlier reiterated its commitment in working closely with the private sector to ensure that job losses were minimized as the pandemic rages on.