The Lagos State government through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) launched a N5 billion economic recovery support for MSMEs in the state, tagged “Lagos Economic Acceleration Programme (LEAP).”
This is in a bid to help businesses in Lagos recover from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was disclosed in a tweet on the Lagos State Government official Twitter handle.
The tweet reads “In a bid to help businesses in Lagos recover as well as save and create more jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lagos State Government, on Wednesday, unveiled N5 Billion Lagos Economic Acceleration Programme (LSETF-LEAP).”
In a bid to help businesses in Lagos recover as well as save and create more jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lagos State Government, on Wednesday, unveiled N5 Billion "Lagos Economic Acceleration Programme (LSETF-LEAP)".@jidesanwoolu @LSETF @gbenga_omo#LASG pic.twitter.com/1vTIuTr1FE
— The Lagos State Govt (@followlasg) November 18, 2020
At the unveiling, the Executive Secretary/CEO, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Mrs. Tejumade Abisoye, described the LSETF-LEAP as a sector-specific intervention programme aimed at supporting MSMEs businesses and driving growth across targeted sectors that have been severely affected by the pandemic.
She explained further, that the programme will provide access to affordable finance at a single-digit interest rate, enhance capacity building, foster market linkages and leverage business expansion opportunities for its beneficiaries.
According to her, some of the identified high-impact sectors with substantial employment creation opportunities include Education, Technology, Transport and Logistics, Healthcare, Renewable Energy and Agriculture.
She noted, however, that the Hospitality, Tourism, Creative and Entertainment Sectors have suffered a downturn that requires intervention that seeks to protect employment. She, therefore implored all interested Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises applicants to visit the LSETF website to apply.
Backstory
Nairametrics had also reported in September that the Lagos State government launched a N5billion support fund for low-cost private schools in the state to help reduce the impact of Coronavirus pandemic.
The Governor of Lagos State had explained that the facility will benefit 2,000 low-cost schools with amounts ranging from N500,000 to N5 million.
Why this matters
With many small and medium scale businesses facing the grunt of the covid-19 induced lockdown, which caused a halt to most economic activities in the state, this initiative will help businesses acquire loan at a low-interest rate so as to help cushion the effect of the pandemic and accelerate business growth.