By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved a N200m empowerment grant for 4,000 artisans in the state, with each beneficiary going home with the sum of N50,000.
Addressing journalists in Ilorin, the state capital, on Monday, the General Manager of the Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP), Mallam Abdulqowiyy Olododo, said parts of the criteria which the artisans have to fulfill include uploading of their 2022 tax clearance from Kwara Internal Revenue Service (KwlRS), and evidence of their membership of a recognised artisan association in the state.
The KWASSIP boss, who said that a portal for application of the grant has been launched, added that the programme, tagged, ‘KWAPRENEUR 3.0’ is aimed at stabilising the economy of the state.
He said: “The KWAPRENEUR is a programme aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs in the State
to get access to funding and training to kick-start their businesses and also expand existing ones in order to see that Kwara State fully becomes a business-driven economy.
“KWAPRENEUR 3.0 called for application, which was concluded between August and September 2022. Applicants ranged from varieties of professions such as fashion designing, Small Scale Provision business, agriculture, transportation services, and a lot more.
“KWAPRENEUR 3.0 received over 15,708 applications, out of which 1,582 were found to be multiple entries, bringing the actual applications to 14,126, which cut across all the 16 local governments in Kwara state.
“Breakdown of the 14,126 applications are as follows:
*4,052: Agribusinesses (farming, foodstuffs, productions, and agro machineries)
*1.582-Artisans
*2,750-Products, provisions, ete
*240-Transport services
*432-Clothing wears and Fabrics
*620-Telco services (POs, Phones accessories)
*4,450- belongs to other categories of applicants
“86% of the applicants fall between the age range of 18 and 40 years old, while the ratio of males to females was 60% to 40%.”
“The GM stated that a team or professionals is currently screening the applications to select those which meet the requirements of the programme, adding that “starting this week, successful applicants will begin to receive calls and messages to inform them to come and defend their business plans before our team of judges in order to determine the beneficiaries of the Kwapreneur 3.0.”
Olododo, however, debunked claim that the beneficiaries of the N20,000 support of ‘owo isowo’ (women petty traders) across the state would be collecting the money each month for six months, saying “this is not correct as there was never a time when such information was stated or reported from this office. The grant is a one-off support for petty traders.
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“We want to appeal to members of the public to continue to support the programme and the
administration of His Excellency which continues to show concern for the welfare of every member of the society, including the downtrodden and the elderly.”