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MSME
CcHub’s Bosun Tijani discloses expansion plans following iHub acquisition
Following the acquisition of iHub, Bosun Tijani, the CEO, has shared details of his strategy for operating the multi-country hubs.
Following the acquisition of iHub by CcHub, Bosun Tijani, the Chief Executive Officer of both organizations has shared details of his strategy for operating the multi-country hubs.
Although the acquisition of iHub by CcHub has made Tijani one of the most powerful figures in African tech with robust membership rosters, startup incubation programs, global partnerships, and VC activities from Nigeria to Kenya, he still faces plenty of challenges in integrating the two innovation hubs which are countries apart.
[READ MORE: Nigeria’s CcHub acquires a major Kenyan tech centre]
Speaking on the coming together of CcHub and iHub and how to align the organizations on the path of sustainability, Tijani noted that Cchub has been in existence for 9 years.
“When people talk about sustainability, we’ve been in business for 9 years, We de-emphasized grant funding six years ago; most of our revenue is actually earned revenue.”
Tijani made known that while iHub has been active with startup seed-investments, CcHub has a portfolio of companies through its Growth Capital Fund. This he intends to use to leverage more partnerships.
Going Forward, The CEO said that the team had started gaining collaborations from big African and global companies such as Facebook and MainOne.
Still on the list of things to do from the CcHub-iHub acquisition, Tijani said he was looking to connect iHub to CcHub’s Google-sponsored Pitch Drive, one which has done African startup tours of Asia and Europe and potentially take the show to the U.S. If taken to the US, it could lead to the organization having a permanent residence in San Francisco.
About CcHUB: CcHub was launched in 2011 and is Africa’s first open living lab and pre-incubation space with a community of over 14,000 people. It has provided support to a portfolio of over 120 early-stage ventures, providing solutions to social problems with technology including Lifebank, Riby, BudgIT and WeCyclers.
[READ ALSO: Nigeria’s CcHUB expands into East Africa]
About iHub: iHub was launched in 2010. The hub has seen over 500 companies receive business support services, 100+ of which have gone through incubation and accelerator programs.
Business
The FG in partnership with the private sector will continue to support MSMEs – Osinbajo
Osinbajo has stated that the FG in partnership with the private sector would continue to provide interventions to boost the growth of small businesses.
Nigeria’s Vice-president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during an MSME stakeholders’ meeting, disclosed that the Federal Government in partnership with the private sector would continue to provide interventions to boost the growth of small businesses across the country.
According to a press statement issued by Laolu Akande, the VP made this statement on Monday at the first meeting of MSMEs stakeholders for the year 2021.
Prof. Osinbajo said the Government would continue to support innovation and interventions to deepen the involvement of new and existing MSMEs in the nation, this he said would help to improve the economy and create more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He stressed further that the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan Survival Funds has sent positive economic signals. In a bid to complement the gains in this space, the Government needs to scale up interventions in the MSMEs sector.
In this vein, Osinbajo urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors at the virtual meeting to be innovative in the interventions planned for small businesses across the country, so as to consolidate on the gains recorded in the MSMEs space in the past few years.
What they are saying
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, during the MSME stakeholders’ meeting, said:
“We must continue to be innovative in the interventions that we plan for MSMEs because small businesses are the engines of growth of any economy, in the areas of wealth creation and employment opportunities, MSMEs are very important.”
Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said:
“We really have to think out of the box in our engagements going forward. We need to change the way we do many things, we need to look for ways of multiplying our efforts because the challenges in this space are greater than what we have been able to achieve so far. Of course, we have done a lot, but looking at the numbers in need, you will find out that there is a lot more to be done.”
What you should know
- The Federal Government’s MSMEs Survival Fund grant scheme, which includes Payroll Support, Artisans and Transport support tracks, is a component under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan, NESP.
- The Survival Fund scheme was designed to cushion the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic especially on the most vulnerable small businesses, is a conditional grant to support vulnerable MSMEs in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector.
- The scheme is estimated to save not less than 1.3 million jobs across the country. However, 283,023 Nigerians employed by MSMEs across the country have benefited from the Payroll Support Scheme. This leaves millions of Nigerians out of the consideration of the scheme.
MSME
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.
MSME
FG warns applicants of N75 billion MSME Fund against fraudulent websites
FG warned unsuspecting members of the public to beware of fraudulent websites demanding account details.
The Federal Government has warned unsuspecting members of the public, who wish to apply for the MSME Survival Fund, to beware of fraudulent websites demanding account details, before giving applicants N50,000.
According to Punch, the disclosure is contained in a press statement that was issued in Calabar by the Project Delivery Office (the Coordinating office of the scheme) under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and titled ‘Portal requesting for beneficiaries account details to get N50, 000 not known to us.’
READ: CBN reacts to videos, pictures of new N2,000 and N5,000 in circulation
The PDO is coordinated by the SA to the President on MSMEs, Office of the Vice President, Tola Johnson.
What the Trade, Industry and Investment Ministry is saying
The Ministry, in its statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to the activities of fraudsters parading themselves as operators of the Federal Government’s Survival Fund Scheme.
“The syndicate operating a fraudulent portal with the link https://survivalfund-gov-ng.freefunds.xyz/#1609249530133(https://bit.ly/FG-survival-fund) are asking unsuspecting members of the public to check their eligibility for the scheme by providing their account details on the portal in order to be paid N50, 000 grant under the Survival Fund Scheme.
READ: How to access FG’s new grant for Bus, Uber, Bolt drivers, cart pushers
“It is pertinent to note that the Project Delivery Office (the coordinating office of the scheme) does not operate any such portal and beneficiaries do not require to go to the website to verify their eligibility for the federal government’s Survival Fund as indicated on the fraudulent portal.
“The website requesting beneficiaries account details is, therefore, a scam. The PDO does not operate any such portal and wishes to advise all Nigerians and beneficiaries of the different tracks of the survival fund to be wary and desist from having dealings with the operators of the site.”
READ: CBN raises alarm over fake tweet posts on N50 billion COVID-19 fund
The Ministry pointed out that the authentic survival fund portal remained www.survivalfund.gov.ng and the PDO would always inform members of the public on updates about the scheme whenever it was necessary.
What you should know
The MSME Survival Fund, which is part of the N2.3tn stimulus package of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan, was introduced by the Federal Government as part of efforts to help businesses overcome challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ: SEC to refund victims of ponzi scheme, Dantata Success and Profitable Company
The MSMEs Survival Fund scheme is a conditional grant to support vulnerable micro and small enterprises in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector. The scheme is expected to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country and specifically impact on over 35,000 individuals per state.
READ: Germany’s 18th Century old bank begins a Bitcoin, Stellar, Ethereum Fund
