SDGs: Foundation Boosts MSMEs with N1m Grant, Skills Devt

James Emejo in Abuja

Determined to help achieve one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Hardball Foundation has provided a N1 million-grant to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Federal Capital territory (FCT).

The Chief Executive of the foundation, Eva Dan-Yusuf, said it is committed towards the attainment of the SDG 8, which is creating decent work for African youths to create sustainable livelihood.

Speaking at a business management training for MSMEs at the Bwari Area Council, where five entrepreneurs were awarded N200,000 each to support their businesses, Dan-Yusuf said funding and knowledge gaps remained the major challenges facing small businesses.

She told THISDAY, “One of the things we do is to go and find the people that actually need support.  We realise that the challenges that MSMEs have is funding and knowledge.

“Some of them just do business because they make money everyday but they are not certain they make profits as long as they see money coming in. And we realised that this is a challenge for MSMEs.”

She said, “So, we have selected MSMEs within the Bwari Area Council to go through a two-week training. We cover different areas from how to market your product, what kinds of products to sell within your location considering the Nigerian economy because doing business here in Nigeria is not the same as doing business in other parts of the world.”

The Hardball Foundation CEO also said, though the funding remains a grant, beneficiaries just use it judiciously for the intended purposes to sustain their businesses and create employment for others.

She said, “We are not just dashing them money and leaving them; we have a six-month aftercare programme that we are going to do with the businesses in their shops and locations.

Also, Director, Hardball Foundation, Mr. Oluwatobi Adeshina, said, “When we first met the beneficiaries on the first day, they were very shy and quiet and they didn’t know a lot of things that they know today.

“But seeing them today after getting all the training, they understand how to build their businesses better, especially because we have an aftercare programme that is going to ensure that everything they were taught, they are actually doing.