Small businesses and farmers will benefit from the $20 million Lagos State Coronavirus (COVID-19) Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (Lagos CARES) Programme.
This was stated on the state government website on Wednesday, stating that the fund would mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on vulnerable residents.
The intervention programme was launched by the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the State House, Alausa, on Wednesday.
The programme is scheduled to run for a period of 24 months and is a part of the $750 million loan from the World Bank through the Federal Government.
Other states would also benefit from the World Bank loan secured by the FG to support poor households and businesses in the country.
The state government aims to directly support 20,843 households, while 125,058 individuals would benefit from the programme indirectly.
Sanwo-Olu noted that 2,512 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and that the programme would be executed between 2021 and 2023.
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He said, “Today marks another milestone in our effort to combat the negative impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on our households, livelihood, food security, and businesses.
“The CARES project is an integral part of the national approach, adopted to alleviate the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, and enhance the wellbeing of our people.
“The Lagos CARES Programme will be implemented between 2021 and 2023, and will provide economic relief and recovery support to identified vulnerable persons. During the 24 months, the programme will directly support vulnerable households and indirectly support 125,058 individuals. There will also be interventions in 69 markets, while a minimum of 2,512 MSMEs will be supported.”
A member of the committee that would attend to the implementation of the programme and the Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals and Investment, Solape Hammond, said that 4,652 farmers would be supported under the programme.
She added that small businesses would be provided with conditional grants that would finance 1,132 eligible businesses.
