Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that a total of 809,000 traders are currently beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s N10,000 interest free loans to traders, otherwise known as Tradermoni.
Osinbajo made the disclosure as he witnessed the disbursement of the loans to petty traders in Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi markets in Lagos yesterday.
According to the vice president, the Buhari administration’s TraderMoni scheme, which has so far given N10,000 collateral and interest-free loans to 809,000 beneficiaries of TraderMoni, over 1.1 million Nigerians – market women, traders, artisans, farmers – are currently beneficiaries of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which comprises FarmerMoni, MarketMoni and TraderMoni.
“Under the TraderMoni scheme, beneficiaries can get access to a higher facility ranging from N15,000 to N100,000 when they repay N10,000 within the stipulated time period,” Osinbajo said.
The Executive Director of Bank of Industry, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji, explained that while FarmerMoni loans start at N300,000 and are for farmers in farming clusters, via farm aggregators, MarketMoni is a six-month interest-free credit of between N50,000 and N300,000 for small businesses – medium-scale traders, market women, artisans, and youth in market associations – under the auspices of their cooperative societies.
The Chief Operating Officer, GEEP, Uzoma Nwagba said the scheme aimed at assisting petty traders across the country expand their trades.
He said the initiative is about including those at the grassroots, and uplifting Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid, considering the contribution of petty traders to economic development.
One of the beneficiary traders, Bola Okanlawon, who sells fruits, appreciated the Federal Government’s gesture which, she said, will assist her to procure more fruits and re-package for her customers. “I’m happy to be a beneficiary of the loan. Now, I can re-package for my customers and make more sales,” she said.
