Seventy-five less-privileged residents of Nasarawa North Senatorial District have received N18.7 million in business grants to support their livelihoods and strengthen their economic activities.
The grants were provided by the Executive Chairman of the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Kassim Muhammed-Kassim, and distributed to the beneficiaries on Saturday in Akwanga Local Government Area.
Flagging off the distribution, Governor Abdullahi Sule commended the initiative, saying the intervention would improve access to capital, strengthen small businesses and stimulate economic growth at the grassroots.
Sule urged the beneficiaries to invest the N250,000 received by each person in viable petty businesses and use the funds judiciously.
“This is about the highest empowerment programme I have seen so far where each person benefited N250,000,” the governor said.
He expressed hope that the beneficiaries would grow the grants into sustainable businesses and create further opportunities within their communities.
Speaking on the initiative, Muhammed-Kassim said the beneficiaries were selected based on assessments of people considered capable of using the funds responsibly.
He said he did not personally know any of the beneficiaries and stressed that the selection was not based on political affiliation.
According to him, the funds were generated from proceeds from his clothing business, including the sale of clothes to schools in Ghana.
He urged the beneficiaries to invest the money in productive ventures to cushion the impact of economic hardship and improve their families’ livelihoods.
“This gesture is designed to provide direct support to the less-privileged members of the society who do not have any means of livelihood to start up a business in order to cushion the effect of the prevailing economic challenges,” he said.
Muhammed-Kassim also announced plans for another empowerment programme under which 300 residents of Wamba, Akwanga and Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Areas would receive N50,000 each.
Some beneficiaries, including Usman Mohammed, Peter Joe and Ahmed Usuf, thanked the SUBEB chairman for the intervention and pledged to use the funds for the intended purpose.
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