283,023 Nigerians employed by MSMEs have benefited from FG Payroll Support Scheme

The FG has revealed that over 200,000 persons have so far benefited from its Payroll Support Program.

By Omokolade Ajayi

The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed that 283,032 Nigerians employed by MSMEs across the country have so far benefited from the Payroll Support Scheme of the Federal Government.

This disclosure was made in a tweet shared via FG Survival Fund’s official Twitter account.

283,023 employees have benefitted from the Payroll Support Scheme.#SurvivalFundNG #PayrollSupport pic.twitter.com/FAgQky0YMf

— MSME Survival Fund (@SurvivalFund_ng) January 6, 2021

What you should know

• The Payroll Support Program by FG under the Survival Fund initiative was created to provide an adequate buffer against the impact of the COVID-19 on the stream of income of MSMEs.
• This, however, is an offshoot of the Survival Fund initiative, established to support and protect small businesses from potential vulnerabilities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In line with the mandate of the programme, the government will support MSMEs with staff salaries for 3 months.
• It is important to note that the COVID-19 pandemic and other regulatory actions of the Federal Government affected the core segments of SMEs, as well as the revenue and income vehicles of Small businesses in Nigeria.
• According to a survey by NBS, it became public knowledge that the total number of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country was about 41.5 million, as of December 2017, with significant employment contribution running to millions.
• In the light of this, it is plausible to say that the Payroll support programme is not inclusive enough, as the recent move by FG to support MSMEs leaves millions of MSMEs and their employees out of the radar.