VP Shettima Announces $100M Grant For Women-Driven Businesses

Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima has revealed that women-led businesses will receive 50% of the anticipated $200 million grant proposed by the National Philanthropic Office (NPO) for MSME startups.

Shettima made this announcement during the inauguration of the Local Implementation Committee of the NPO at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday, according to a statement by his spokesperson, Stanley Nkwocha.

He said, “Eligible MSMEs will receive grants ranging from $5 million to $10 million. Emphasis will be placed on supporting women-led businesses, constituting 50% of the start-ups.”

The NPO, an initiative driven 100 percent by the private sector, with full support from the government, is part of efforts by the Tinubu-led federal government to raise alternative funding for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMSEs) and other vital economic programmes through collaboration with the private sector.

The office is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the establishment of 12 industrial value-chain hubs and accelerators for startups and small businesses across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

Delivering his speech titled, “Philanthropy and Our Shared Responsibilities,” during the inauguration of the Local Implementation Committee of the NPO, Vice President disclosed that the NPO is set to raise $200 million in grants and non-financial investment through local and international teams to provide support for start-ups in key sectors of the country’s MSMEs space.

“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this initiative proposes to raise $200m in grants and non-financial investment, through local and international teams, to provide support to start-ups in the key sectors within the MSMEs space that drive job creation in Nigeria,” he stated.

Noting President Bola Tinubu’s knack for giving back to society, Shettima said his boss’s commitment to philanthropy had always been the mark of his identity.

“Long before stepping into the realm of public service, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been a steadfast believer in the ideals of giving back to society. This commitment to philanthropy has always defined his identity.

“The Country Chairperson of the National Philanthropic Office (NPO), Mrs. Thelma Ekiyor, can rest assured that this initiative is in secure hands. Mr. President’s enduring spirit of societal betterment is enough to guarantee its success and impact,” the VP stated.

He acknowledged what he called gaps existing in philanthropy, saying “there’s an unmistakable inadequacy of philanthropy,” even as he added that this “has led to the establishment of the National Philanthropic Office.

“Through this office, we aim to kindle a spirit of support for vulnerable enterprises and ideas that hold the key to our collective progress,” he explained, noting that there is no place in the world “where government thrives in isolation, and without collaboration with private individuals and organizations bound by the virtue of empathy, this practice of philanthropy”.