The Federal Government has announced that the MSME Survival Fund Payroll Support Portal will be exceptionally reopened for 30 states that have been unable to meet their quota.
The government in its announcement said that the scheme, which is aimed at supporting vulnerable MSMEs in the payroll obligations of over 500,000 employees for a period of 3 months, will be opened from January 27 to February 2, 2021.
This disclosure was contained in a statement that was issued by the project delivery office of the scheme on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.
According to the statement, the Steering Committee of the MSMS Survival Fund and the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme which is chaired by the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, noted that Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna and Rivers States, in addition to the Federal Capital Territory, have all met their quota and as such are not eligible to participate in the reopening exercise.
The statement from the Project Delivery Office of the scheme partly reads, ‘’The Steering Committee of the MSME Survival Fund and the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme Chaired by the Hon. Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum wishes to inform the public that the MSME Survival Fund Payroll Support Portal will be exceptionally reopened for states that have not met their quota.
‘’The portal will be opened from 27th January to 2nd February 2021.’’
‘’To date, the following states have met their quota and are consequently NOT ELIGIBLE to participate in the reopening exercise. The states are; Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna and Rivers and the FCT.’’
In the statement, the Federal Government reminded the public of the following qualification requirements for participation;
- Businesses must have CAC registration
- Businesses must have a minimum of 10 and maximum of 50 staff
- Business must be owned by Nigerians
- Must have verifiable BVN
- The Scheme provides for 45% female participation and 5% Special Needs participation.
While noting that registration for the scheme is free, the government advised the public to beware of fraudsters and should visit www.survivalfund.gov.ng for further details.
What you should know
- The N60 billion MSME Survival Fund and the N15 billion Guaranteed Offtake Scheme, which is the core of the N2.3 trillion stimulus package of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan, was flagged off on September 21, 2021.
- The 2 MSMEs initiatives were introduced by the Federal Government as part of its efforts to support businesses overcome challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The MSMEs Survival Fund scheme is a conditional grant to support vulnerable micro and small enterprises in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector.
- The scheme is expected to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country and specifically impact on over 35,000 individuals per state.
