By Asuquo Cletus, Calabar
The Federal Government has introduced a ₦500 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) intervention programme in Cross River State, targeted at over 1,000 entrepreneurs and artisans.
The initiative is designed to support business growth, boost private enterprise, and reduce over-dependence on government jobs in the state.
On Friday, the minister of State for Industry, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment John Owan Enoh, who officially unveiled the scheme at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Calabar, described it as a personal contribution to the state’s business ecosystem, stressing that the intervention would be strictly managed for economic growth.
“This programme is not a loan, it is a grant,” Enoh said. “It is not political money, but funds strictly intended to grow businesses, empower our people and reduce the burden of unemployment. My goal in public office has always been to add to the happiness of people, and this is one way of doing so.”
According to him, the scheme would cover both the formal and informal sectors. Beneficiaries in the formal sector will receive between ₦100,000 and ₦500,000, while artisans and small-scale operators in the informal sector such as welders, vulcanizers, tailors, and petty traders will get ₦150,000 each.
The programme will run in four batches, with each batch expected to capture 150 formal business owners and 325 informal operators, spread evenly across the 18 local government areas of Cross River. Beneficiaries will be selected based on the location of their businesses rather than their local government of origin.
Enoh explained that successful applicants would undergo a mandatory one-week entrepreneurship training in each of the three senatorial districts before funds are disbursed. He stressed that the grants were meant to build sustainable enterprises and not for personal consumption.
“We cannot continue with the attitude where people sell the tools or funds given to them the next day,” the minister warned. “This support is not for paying house rent but for growing small businesses that will, in turn, create jobs.”
Giving further details, the minister said forms had been printed and would be distributed across the 18 LGAs for informal business owners, while formal businesses are to apply through the official website: hmindustry.ng.
He assured that the process would be transparent. “Not a dime of this money will be stolen. That is why a credible team has been set up to manage it,” -Enoh stated ..
Enoh also linked the initiative to President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing efforts to support MSMEs nationwide. He noted that in the 2025 budget, the Federal Government had earmarked ₦500 billion for industrial and MSME interventions, including single-digit interest loans and manufacturing support.
“Cross River must be part of the pool of 40 million MSMEs driving Nigeria’s economy,” he said. “This intervention complements Governor Bassey Otu’s ₦1 billion counterpart funding with the Bank of Industry, which is also designed to expand access to credit for
business owners in the state.”
The minister further revealed that an Automotive Training Centre would be established at the University of Calabar, while a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station was also in the works, as part of broader industrial growth plans.
He urged journalists to help sensitize the public, saying awareness was crucial for eligible Cross Riverians to benefit from the grant.
