The Lagos State government has funded 7,817 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs) through its entrepreneurship scheme known as Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).
In a report tagged ‘LSETF Impact: Progress and Lessons’, the benefiting MSMEs were funded by LSETF under its MSME Loan Programme, of which 89 per cent of businesses have been able to pay back loans solely from business income and profits.
70 per cent of beneficiaries who were unable to access funding before the LSETF intervention, according to the report, recorded positive improvement.
While 70 per cent of the beneficiaries hired at least one person, female beneficiaries were able to support an average of 5 dependents each, while their male counterparts supporting an average of 4. This means that about 8,000 loan beneficiaries are responsible for at least 40,000 persons.
Moreover, the report states that 75 entrepreneurs in the technology and innovation space were impacted by the LSETF’s Lagos Innovates workspace voucher programme which led to the creation of 2,125 direct and indirect jobs, while 76 per cent of the
Speaking on the report, executive secretary, LSETF, Mr. Akintunde Oyebode, said the outcome of the initiative has been very insightful and has thrown up indicators to areas that need improvement.
At LSETF, we believe it is important to measure impact, to ensure we improve the benefit received from the public and private capital entrusted to us, he stressed.
The regional director, Ford Foundation, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma said, it is impressive that LSETF as an agency of the Government has done a laudable job even in the face of growing scepticism of the impact of special programmes by the government to solve social problems.
“It is important that an agency created few years ago has decided to embark on what is usually not the norm, to check how it has performed and the lessons learnt in other to make future plans. This should be a model for other states and government agencies across the federation,” Chukwuma pointed out.
