239 days after the unfortunate violence that followed the #ENDSARs protests last year, the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) has announced that it has provided financial support worth over N1.1b to 1,880 businesses in Lagos state.
The agency made this assertion when it submitted the MSME Recovery Fund Report to the Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during an online event last week.
Chairperson of the LSETF Board of Trustees, Mrs. Bola Adesola, said eventually 2,000 businesses would be paid a total of one billion, one hundred eighteen million, seven hundred and forty-two thousand, eight hundred and eleven naira in individual sums ranging from N50,000 to N5,000,000.
She further said that this intervention has saved 10,005 direct jobs and over 40,020 indirect jobs. We ensured that we achieved the objectives of the Fund which were to ‘Keep businesses open, save jobs and protect livelihood.
“The objectives of putting together the report are to highlight the achievements and lessons learned from the process. In addition, it was also to show accountability and to serve as a template for other states of the federation. This will further position Lagos state as a pace setter.”
The Executive Secretary of the LSETF, Mrs. Tejumola Abisoye, said 97% of the businesses that applied for the fund did not have insurance, while 80% of them are not registered or formalised operations and had proper records.
She advocated that for more awareness on the need for insurance, partnerships with insurance brokers and companies that can create affordable structures to pay premium. She also called for capacity building training for MSMEs on business registration and increased awareness on the importance of business/professional affiliations especially for MSMEs.
Governor Sanwo-Olu in his response advocated for the full implementation of the recommendations of the report to lift millions of Lagosians out of poverty. The report, he said, revealed that 65 per cent of the people affected by the violence were women, adding that there is need to support more of women-driven businesses.
Sanwo-Olu said: “From this report, it is evident that there is need for small businesses to enter into partnerships and affiliations, and organise their businesses into one form or other, so that they can formalise themselves around associations, and sectors, to ensure that they have people that can speak on their behalf and make them become a strong voice in the industry”.
