Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, has said that the state government has disbursed about N25 billion in grants and loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) to enhance productivity and economic growth in the state.
Sanwo-Olu made this known at a parley during the 2024 Business Day Newspaper CEO Forum, themed “Governors in Conversation: Innovative Governance: Steering States through Economic Turbulence,” which was held at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, stated that the grants and loans made available over the past six years had helped to empower entrepreneurs to flourish in their businesses and stimulate the economy.
According to the governor, the state government also helped affected entrepreneurs source products, have access to the market, and interact with NAFDAC, BOI, CAC, and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), among other agencies, to help them understand how to run their businesses within the framework of the laws.
“The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund over the past six years has given out close to $25 billion in terms of grants and assisting people with loans.
“In this case, single-digit loans were offered to them to sustain and train them on how to manage their businesses.
“It is for us to create those types of environments that allow private people to run their businesses and create jobs for the future,” Governor Sanwo-Olu stated.
Speaking further, the governor noted that all these initiatives were what the government had been doing to ensure that businesses within the state rose, assuring that his administration aimed to enhance the nano/SMEs and provide access to grants and loans for their businesses to continue to thrive and succeed.
Sanwo-Olu stated further that his administration was committed to the ease of doing business, enhancing businesses, and helping the citizens grow.
“These are the goals of our administration as embedded in the T.H.E.M.E.S.+ developmental agenda with the ‘M’ Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy,” he said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu highlighted some of his administration’s initiatives to create an enabling environment for business development, saying that these include Knowledge, Innovation, Technology, and Employment (KITE), a hub that houses younger people who don’t have funds to access an office or shop to operate.
He also listed LASRIC, for fintech and other technology-driven businesses; Lagos Financial Centre, which creates a zone for financial services; and other initiatives.
Besides, the governor disclosed that his government was creating the largest food hub in Imota, saying that the food hub would allow the government to aggregate what comes into the state and also aid proper food storage and food security in the state.
He emphasised that all these initiatives had enabled young people to bring out creative ideas that helped them develop them into reality by giving them the needed support.
“It’s gratifying that young people are creating jobs using the initiative of the state government, like the LASRIC, for fintech and other technology-driven businesses, so this is the environment we are creating,” she said.
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