1.1m Nigerians benefitting from GEEP; over 800,000 receiving N10,000 interest-free loans

By Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
In continuation of the Buhari administration’s TraderMoni scheme, which has so far given N10,000 collateral and interest-free loans to over 800,000 petty traders nationwide, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, is expected to be in Lagos today to formally launch the scheme in other markets in the state.
The Vice President will launch the scheme in Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi markets in Lagos.
While there are so far over 809,000 beneficiaries of TraderMoni, over 1.1 million Nigerians – market women, traders, artisans, farmers – are currently beneficiaries of GEEP, which comprises FarmerMoni, MarketMoni and TraderMoni.
FarmerMoni loans start at N300,000 and are for farmers in farming clusters, via farm aggregators, while MarketMoni is a 6-month interest-free credit of between N50,000 and N300,000 for small businesses – medium-scale traders, market women, artisans, and youth in market associations – under the auspices of their cooperative societies.
Under the TraderMoni scheme, beneficiaries can get access to a higher facility ranging from N15,000 to N100,000 when they repay N10,000 within the stipulated time period.
The micro-credit scheme under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), was first formally launched on August 7 in five markets in Lagos State – Mushin, Ikotun, Agege, Ketu, and Abule Egba areas.
TraderMoni, which is part of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (N-SIP), is designed to assist petty traders across the country expand their trade through the provision of collateral and interest-free loans from N10,000. The loans are repayable over a period of six months.
The scheme, which has since been formally launched in 33 states and the FCT, is expected to reach 2 million petty traders by the end of the year,
Also, through TraderMoni scheme, the Buhari Administration aims to take financial inclusion down to the grassroots, and uplift Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid, considering the contribution of petty traders to economic development. The Federal Government is also aware of the fact that many of the petty traders don’t have what the commercial banks require to grant them loans.