From Uche Usim, Abuja
The Federal Government has disbursed N10,995,391,260 to the beneficiaries of the third edition of the YouWiN! programme. The period covers 2015 to date, out of which N8,396,905,038 was disbursed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, made the disclosure yesterday while releasing the last payment of N125,640,000 for disbursement to the final 61 beneficiaries of the third edition of the programme.
“By January 2018, the total amount disbursed to beneficiaries of the third edition of the YouWiN! programme will be N11,121,031,260, of which the current administration has disbursed N8,522,545,038,” she said.
The amount was disbursed to 1,500 beneficiaries who have started or expanded their businesses across a variety of sectors, including Information and Communication Technology (ICT), manufacturing, services and agricultural production and processing.
Other areas covered under the third edition were fashion and entertainment, while various technical supports were extended to over 18,000 beneficiaries in the areas of access to markets and finance as well as capacity building in business management, accounting and operations.
Recall that on assuming office, Adeosun reviewed and restructured the YouWiN! Programme to YouWiN! Connect and gave it a new focus for sustainability.
YouWiN! Connect is currently providing online capacity building to more than 61,000 beneficiaries across the country. The next stage of the YouWiN! Connect programme will involve sector-specific in-class training to successful beneficiaries and the development of franchise infrastructure.