The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has confirmed that the N50,000 grant program for nano businesses, covering one million applicants nationwide, is still ongoing and expected to conclude by the end of this month.
Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister overseeing the program, provided this update through a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) circular shared on her official X (formerly Twitter) account.
Uzoka-Anite assured applicants that while the application period has ended, the disbursement process is underway, with successful recipients receiving their alerts progressively until the end of May.
She clarified that the disbursements are being made in batches and emphasized that no further action is required from applicants at this stage.
Additionally, the Minister highlighted that only one million applicants out of over 3.6 million will be eligible to receive the grants, as the scheme is designed to cover a specific number of beneficiaries.
The selection process for disbursement follows the order in which applications are verified, aiming to distribute funds to approximately 1,290 beneficiaries per local government area (LGA) across the country, totaling one million recipients.
Uzoka-Anite explained that the disbursements are subject to verification of the National Identification Number (NIN), which became mandatory after the initial application phase and required only the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
She emphasized that the selection process is random and automated, without human intervention, from those who have passed both NIN and BVN verification.
In conclusion, the Minister reiterated that the program’s threshold of one million recipients is based on the allocated budget for nano businesses.
