…As Osinbajo, Ambode, Sanwo-Olu Monitor Implementation
The Federal Government on Monday launched the special enterprise and
empowerment programme otherwise known as TraderMoni in three additional
markets in Lagos, with an assurance that the scheme would be extended to
two million beneficiaries by December 2018 across the country.
The
TraderMoni scheme, which is a collateral and interest-free loan for
petty traders, had earlier been launched in some markets in Lagos, while
three additional markets in the State – Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi were
added to the scheme by Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN),
accompanied by Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and the All
Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate in the State, Mr
Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The trio, while inspecting implementation of the scheme, took time to
interact with petty traders in the markets, assuring that government
would continue to come up with innovative initiatives to benefit the
critical mass of the population.
Giving details, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on
Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, said close to 800,000 petty
traders had so far benefited from the scheme, adding that the programme
had been structured for traders to borrow up to N50,000 and repay back
seamlessly.
“The TraderMoni scheme is part of the socio-investment programme of
the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and the plan is to ensure
that between September and December this year, two million petty traders
receive the first payment of N10,000. Once they are able to return it
within six months, they get additional N15,000 and when they return
that, they get another N20,000 until they get as much as N50,000.
“The whole idea is that the President wants to ensure that traders
that are at the bottom of the ladder; people whose wares and businesses
are just about N3000, N5000 and so on; people who normally don’t get any
kind of financial assistance; people that the banks do not give any
kind of credit because they have no collateral are not left out in what
they are doing in our micro credit scheme.
“This was what informed the TraderMoni Programme and today, it has
gone to several states and the Vice President is in Lagos today to see
what is happening in three additional markets. The VP is here to see
what is happening and to interact with the traders, as well as to assure
all Nigerians as a matter of fact that this is going to go round,”
Akande said.
He added that at the end of the first batch, the government would
take it further to ensure that more traders benefit from the scheme.
“In the first batch of the scheme, we will be doing two million
traders and after that, we will even take it further. Between now and
December, we would have given to two million petty traders. Already, we
have close to 800,000 petty traders out of the two million. We have
enumerated all the two million traders and so we know who they are and
so it is a question of time,” he said.
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