The Federal Government has officially launched the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP 2.0).
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, said the program would be replicated in all the states of the federation.
The national phase of the program was launched in Katsina State.
The minister said with the rollout of the program, disbursement of loans would begin in all the states of the federation.
At the presentation of cheques to peasant farmers and petty businesswomen, she said the interest-free loans to beneficiaries were in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to fighting poverty and its devastating impact from all angles.
The GEEP program is categorized into three: TraderMoni loan of N50,000 targeted at uplifting the underprivileged and marginalized youths between the ages of 18 and 40 years; MarketMoni loan, also N50,000, for the underprivileged and marginalized women, like widows, divorcees, and other vulnerable groups; and the
FarmerMoni loan, which is between N50,000 and N300,000 designed for small-scale farmers in the communities to improve their agricultural productivity and inclusion in commercial farming.
In a statement in Abuja by the media aide to the minister, Nneka Anibeze, Hajiya Farouq said: “GEEP is a program designed by President Buhari’s administration to create further opportunities for the poor, vulnerable, and low-income Nigerians, especially those who are involved in viable informal productive activities with limited financial requirements but have never had access to loans from the formal financial sector.
“It is meant to give priority to the most vulnerable in our society, like widows, youth, persons with disabilities, and the internally displaced persons (IDPs), amongst others.”
