The Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, has unveiled a ₦500 million intervention programme in Cross River State to support more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Speaking at a media briefing held on Friday at the Ernest Etim Bassey NUJ Press Centre in Calabar, Enoh explained that the initiative was conceived as a personal effort to boost the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in the state and to reduce the high dependence on government jobs.
According to him, the programme will provide grants ranging between ₦100,000 and ₦500,000 to beneficiaries in both the formal and informal sectors. He said artisans including welders, vulcanizers, and tailors will benefit from the informal category, with each receiving ₦150,000.
“This is not a loan; it is a grant,” Enoh said. “It is not Dutch money for politics, but funds strictly intended to grow our economy. My commitment in public service has always been to add to the happiness of people, and this is one way of doing so.”
The implementation of the scheme will take place in four batches. Each batch will have 150 beneficiaries drawn from the formal sector and 325 from the informal sector, spread across the 18 local government areas. Enoh clarified that selection will be based on the location of businesses and not on the local government of origin.
He noted that applicants who are selected will undergo a one-week entrepreneurship training in their senatorial districts before they can access the funds. For rural operators, printed forms have been distributed, while formal business owners can apply online through the official portal at hmindustry.ng.
The minister gave assurances of accountability, saying: “Not a dime of this money will be stolen. That is the reason we formed a credible team to manage it.”
Highlighting the national context, Enoh linked the initiative to federal government policy. He explained that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had already earmarked hundreds of billions of naira in the 2025 budget for grants and single-digit loan facilities to strengthen MSMEs across Nigeria.
“Cross River must be part of the pool of 40 million MSMEs driving Nigeria’s economy,” he stated, noting that the effort also complements Governor Bassey Otu’s ₦1 billion counterpart fund with the Bank of Industry.
He warned beneficiaries against misuse of the funds, stressing that the grants are intended to discourage dependency and foster innovation. “We can’t continue with the attitude where beneficiaries sell the equipment they are given. This fund is meant to build businesses, not to pay house rent,” Enoh cautioned.