Beneficiaries showcase products at Lagos Trade Fair

Stories y Yinka Kolawole

THE Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) has so far approved N4.9 billion for disbursement to 6,548 small business owners, under its micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) loan programme, out of which N4.1 billion loans have been fully disbursed to over 4,762 beneficiaries.

Data made available to Vanguard SME revealed that businesses operating within the small and medium enterprises (SME) space received approval for N2.91 billion, while those in the micro enterprises (ME) category received N1.99 billion. Similarly, N61 million has been disbursed to trained applicants to start up their own micro enterprises in the state. The Fund has received about 30,000 applications since its commencement.

Meanwhile, some of the beneficiaries are using the platform provided by the Fund at the ongoing 2017 Lagos International Trade Fair to showcase their products.

Prospective customers

LSETF secured a pavilion at the Fair for the beneficiaries to exhibit their products as part of its commitment to promote the businesses of the beneficiaries of its loan scheme. The move is aimed at boosting the visibility of participating beneficiaries as well as providing a platform for the small businesses to market and sell their products to prospective customers.

One of the beneficiaries, Ejiro Jakpa, Operations Director of Nicnax Enterprises, engaged in the production and packaging of Granola flakes, in an interview with Vanguard SME at the Fair, said the fund has opened up her business to new world of possibilities. According to her, the N5 million loan she got has greatly improved the operations of her business.

“The Fund has significantly helped to fund the development of Nicnax-Granola. We have been able to expand from operating out of a home kitchen to securing our own standard processing facility, which in turn has led us to the final stages of acquiring our NAFDAC license.

“We have had the unique opportunity to gain invaluable experience through active participation at entrepreneurship programs at the Enterprise Development Center of the Lagos Business School, during which we had access to several key advisors and resources which have guided us on our journey of growth, innovation, collaborations, export opportunities and financial management acumen.

“The funding made available to us from LSETF has allowed us to grow our company by providing that stamp of approval and positioned us to secure private investor funding. Now we can concentrate our energies on our core functions and move on to the next stage in scaling our business model. LSETF has opened up Nicnax-GranolaLoves to a whole new world of possibilities and is bringing us closer to realising our goal of raising the consumers’ awareness of the importance of healthy eating, which can aid a healthy lifestyle,” she stated.

Jakpa said she learnt about LSETF from a friend, applied for the loan online on March 13 and received the loan on July 7, after going through the necessary processes.

For greater efficiency, she recommended that LSETF should organise monthly entrepreneurship seminar where beneficiaries can share their experiences and challenges.