The Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, Dr Dikko Umar Radda, has announced that the Federal Government is about to commence the implementation of the programmes designed for the judicious application of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund, NYIF. The Federal Executive Council had in July this year, approved the sum of ₦75 billion for the fund which is targeted at the youth as a vital demographic for the growth of the Nigerian economy.

Radda said: “Dear Nigerians, a golden opportunity is up for grabs. This MSME Survival Fund has been designed to cushion the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the most vulnerable MSMEs across Nigeria. Targeting 1.7 million individuals and entities across Nigeria.”

“The Payroll Support program of MSME Survival Fund is kicking off immediately, while the Guaranteed Off-take Scheme will launch as soon as the modalities are put in place. The two will be implemented over an initial period of 3 months.”

The DG of SMEDAN said that “To benefit from the MSME Survival Fund, your business must:

• Be Nigerian-owned
• Be CAC-registered
• Business owner must have a BVN
• Staff strength of not less than 10 for Payroll Support and 3 for GoS.”

We had broken the news of the Federal Executive Council approving ₦75 billion for youth innovators and entrepreneurs. You may read it via this link.

http://switchnigeria.com/2020/07/23/breaking-news-buhari-approves-establishment-of-%e2%82%a675billion-nigeria-youth-investment-fund/

The DG said that “The Survival Fund will ensure that 45% of beneficiaries are female-owned businesses and 5% are owned by persons with special needs. As part of Survival Fund, Nigerian Government will also fully cover the cost of CAC registration for 250,000 new business names.”

“In addition to registered businesses, Survival Fund will also cater to a second category of Nigerians: the Self-employed, including ;
Service providers in the transportation sector, i.e. Bus/Taxi drivers, Rideshare drivers, Auto-Mechanics. Artisans (Electricians Plumbers etc).”

“The registration will start on 21st September 2020 via http://www.survivalfund.ng.”

The DG advised that Nigerians who are on the Twitter platform of the social media should
@SurvivalFund_ng for more details. He also enjoined everyone who come across this news to disseminate it as widely as they can.

Dikko Umar Radda is also the Chairman, Publicity & Logistics Sub committee of National Steering Committee of Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP).