The Ogun State Government has earmarked N1 billion to about 1,500 business owners across the 20 local government areas of the state as operational grants for micro and small-scale enterprises.
The Project Manager of Ogun State COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme (OGUN CARES), Mrs. Olusola Arobieke, while speaking, during the enumeration and vetting exercise for beneficiaries, said the purpose of the grant was to cushion the effect of the pandemics on the micro and small-scale business owners.
She noted that about 16,000 business owners had been nominated to benefit from the grant in all the three Senatorial Districts of the state, revealing that the 1,500 that were captured under the first batch would receive the alert within 24 hours.
According to her, “The exercise has been on for some time. The main idea of the N1 billion grant was to serve as relief from COVID-19 pandemics for micro and small enterprises in all three Senatorial Districts of Ogun. The beneficiaries may not necessarily be indigent, but they will benefit as long as they have a business establishment in the state.”
A boutique owner in Ijebu-Ode local government area, Mr. Israel Ariyo, and Olamide Olatunde, owner of Beauty and Cosmetics Shop in Ado-Odo, Ota local government area, while appreciating the government for the gesture, posited that the grant would help to lessen the burden of obtaining a loan from other sources, adding that it would make their business to move on faster.
Also, a photographer from Abeokuta South local government area, Olawummi Okunlola, and a trader from Odogbolu local government area, Tairat Adebanjo, said the grant would be spent on acquiring new gadgets and expanding their business, appreciating the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun, for promoting individual prosperity.
