The Federal Government has cleared the doubt on Nigeria’s youth investment fund following the reactions of some beneficiaries who are expressing disappointment over the disbursement under the first tranche of N12.5 billion.
In a statement signed by Director, Press & Public Relations, Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, Mohammed Manga, it was stated that “the framework specified 250,000 as the maximum for individual and eligible businesses that are critical can access up to 3 million subjects to meeting key criteria set in the guideline and conditions.^
The statement also revealed that “while considering the number of applications received, there was a need to ensure spread and enable more beneficiaries to enjoy the facility.
“It is pertinent to state that the ministry received over three million applications for the N12.5 billion that is available; and at the current cap of N300,000.00 per beneficiary, only about 41,000 beneficiaries can be covered.
“The reduction was made following the desire of the ministry to reach out to many beneficiaries.”
The statement also clarified that “the NYIF is not a grant, but a loan targeted at supporting the youth to start small businesses or to inject funds into existing small businesses.”