FG to create 5m jobs from post-COVID-19 economic plans ― Minister

In a bid to curtail the aftermath economic effects on COVID19 in the country, the Federal Government has drafted an economic recovery plan to create over 5 million jobs and also save over 1.4 SMEs jobs from collapsing.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adebayo, said, on Thursday, in Abuja, that the move is targeted at the delivery of Real Sector intervention of the ministry of Trade economic sustainability plan in the wake of the global pandemic.

In a statement made available to newsmen by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Minister, Mr Julius Toba-Jegede, plans are underway to save about 1.4 million jobs of Nigerians, with 40 per cent of them in female-owned MSMEs and 10 per cent in businesses belonging to people with special needs.

Adebayo noted that to achieve these, an overview of three programmes has been laid out: “The MSME Survival Fund, The Guaranteed Offtake Stimulus Scheme and the Credit Support to MSMEs and Priority Sector.

“These interventions will save and create about five million jobs, support continued operations and increase in production capacity in priority sectors and protect MSMEs from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“We expect that the Survival Fund will save 1.4 million jobs across the country with 40 per cent of them in the female-owned MSMEs and 10 per cent in businesses owned by persons with special needs.

“The Guaranteed Offtatake Stimulus Scheme’s objective is to protect jobs, stimulate economic activities across the country and protect the income of vulnerable MSMEs by guaranteeing offtake of items produced by these businesses. The scheme will save an additional 300,000 jobs in MSMEs nationwide.

“The Credit Support to MSMEs and Priority Sector will provide affordable finance to key sectors impacted by the pandemic and enable an increase in manufacturing capacity in priority sectors. This scheme will save and create an additional three million jobs and will be implemented through N50 billion MSME de-risking facility, N100 billion intervention fund for priority sectors.

“These sectors include healthcare, agro-processing, creative industry, local oil and gas and exports.

“There will also be N150 billion Capitalisation Fund and a N50 billion Export Expansion Facility,” he said.

The Minister added that the programmes had been designed with a robust governance structure and a monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure their successful implementation.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE