The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has announced that it has begun the disbursement of the funds from the 'Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme' to verified applicants after an exhaustive selection process.

Earlier, the government, through the Bank of Industry said it would disburse three categories of funding totalling N200bn to support manufacturers and businesses across the country.

However, in a progress report posted on X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Aniete, stated that an unspecified number of beneficiaries had received their grants, adding that by Friday, April 19, another significant disbursement will be made to a substantial number of verified applicants.

She said, “We are pleased to inform you that the disbursement process for the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme has officially commenced. Some beneficiaries have already received their grants, marking the beginning of our phased disbursement strategy.

“By Friday, April 19, 2024, a significant disbursement will be made to a substantial number of verified applicants. It is essential to understand that disbursements are ongoing, and not all applicants will receive their grants on this initial date. However, rest assured that all verified applicants will eventually receive their grants in subsequent phases.”

The programme, which had been riddled with multiple delays and a complex registration process, has since received several criticisms from prospective beneficiaries.

Earlier, the President of the Association of Small Business Owners, Femi Egbesola, decried the slow pace of data collation by the supervising agencies, alleging that genuine businesses were being deliberately discouraged from accessing the loans.

He said, “Well, I don’t know why it has not been disbursed. Immediately after the announcement was made by the president at the national address months ago, we were all excited, thinking succour had come somehow, somewhere. We were extremely hopeful, but at the moment, we have been disenfranchised because we have waited, and there is no hope.

“We expected that even if the money has not been disbursed, communication should have been made to stakeholders, letting us know reasons why it hasn’t been disbursed, the current state and progress made, and the expected date to commence.”