Additional 25,000 youths to benefit from FG’s N75b loan, says Sunday Dare

Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare Saturday revealed that an additional 25,000 youths are waiting to undergo training to benefit from a N75billion soft loan for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), which President Muhammadu Buhari approved in 2020.

According to him, 6,054 entrepreneurs have so far benefited from the loan.

Noting that the loan is targeted to grow the economies of vibrant Nigerian youths, he explained that it was designed as a three-year loan of N25 billion annually with each beneficiary getting between N250,000 to N3 million.

The minister spoke at the All Nigeria Rotary Conference 2021 in Abuja, where his Special Adviser on New Media, Mr. Toyin Ibitoye represented him.

The theme of the conference is “Uniting Nigeria through Rotary.”

His words: “Our National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), a N75b soft loan for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari last year and the target is simple – grow economies of our vibrant youth enterprises.

“Crafted as a three-year loan of N25bn annually with each beneficiary getting between N250,000 to N3m, 6,054 entrepreneurs have benefited so far, while another 25,000 are on standby to go through the specified training before funds disbursement.”

Dare insisted that the nation’s National Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounting for 96 per cent of businesses and 84 per cent of employment, growing local economies, must also mean growing SMEs.

He vowed that it was a must to keep engaging the youths and keeping them busy in order to promote peace.