The Federal Government is set to commence the disbursement of N150 billion soft loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and manufacturers by the end of July.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this in a statement through her official X handle.

Uzoka-Anite said that 60 percent of the proposed one million beneficiaries of the Presidential Conditional Grant had received a financial grant of N50,000 without repayment obligations in the 774 local government areas of the country.

She stated: “To all applicants of the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme who are yet to be paid, thank you for your continued patience. The disbursement process is still ongoing, and we have allocated about 60 percent of the 1 million grants.

“We are also at the final stages of vetting for the MSME and Manufacturing loans. Applications remain open, and disbursement will begin by July ending.”

Recall that in December 2023, the Federal Government unveiled the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme and the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme as part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme aimed at supporting businesses to navigate the economic crunch caused by removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the foreign exchange market which has led to the depreciation of the naira. Both initiatives require beneficiaries to meet certain conditions precedent to approval and drawdown.

Under the loan scheme, manufacturers can access up to N1 billion, at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum, for working capital with a repayment period of one year to five years for the purchase of machinery and equipment.

The benefiting manufacturers are those that have been assessed by the accredited banks and have met all requirements for disbursement.

The fund dedicates N75 billion to MSMEs and another N75 billion to the manufacturing sector to help businesses in Nigeria navigate the harsh economic realities.