FG Pre-qualifies 98,000 Beneficiaries for GEEP 2.0 Programme

Olawale Ajimotokan

The federal government has prequalified 98,000 people to benefit from small loans ranging from N50,000 to N300,000 in the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP 2.0) in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This followed the final verification of Phase 1 applicants who qualified and were selected for the scheme.

Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development, Ms. Sadiya Umar Farouq, said the loan is payable within nine months without interest and all beneficiaries would soon receive their disbursement alerts.

Farouq said the ministry has planned to rollout the programme nationwide, after which an enumeration exercise to capture beneficiaries’ biodata, would follow.

The GEEP 2.0 is a loan scheme designed by the federal government to provide financial inclusion and give credit access to poor and vulnerable individuals, including Persons With Disability (PWD) and persons at the bottom of the economic pyramid who are engaged in small scale commercial activities. .under its three flagship schemes: MarketMoni, TraderMoni and FarmerMoni.

radermoni is designed to uplift under-privileged and marginalised youths aged between 18 and 40 years in Nigeria by providing them with loans of N50,000 while MarketMoni is focused on under-privileged and marginalised women aged between 18 and 55 years like widows, divorcees amongst other vulnerable groups.

They would get interest-free loans of N50,000 payable between six and nine months.

FarmerMoni is for Nigerian farmers aged between 18-55 years in rural areas. They would be provided with loans of up to N300,000 to acquire farming input. This scheme has 12 months repayment plan, which included three months moratorium and nine months repayment period.