MSME Grant and Guaranteed Offtake Scheme Registration Portal 2024

In a bid to rescue Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises from the financial woes caused by the covid-19 pandemic,

the federal government of Nigeria has rose to its feet by devising an intervention plan for Micro, Small and Medium enterprise owners.

This intervention plan comes under the MSME Survival Fund and Guaranteed Offtake Scheme (GOS).

In order for the MSME grant and GOS to be successful, President Buhari approved the sum of Sixty Billion Naira for participants that would sign up to benefit from this scheme.

The aim of these initiatives is to help small and medium scale business owners cushion the effects of the pandemic and revive their business.

Consequently, this would reduce unemployment in the country as these business owners would be able to retain their employees and could also lead to the expansion of their business.

Once their businesses expand, it creates more job opportunities in the countries and these business owners would seek to employ more staff.

Fun fact: the funding for the MSME grant and the GOS is from the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) N2.3trn stimulus package.

The NESP was created by the president to help alleviate the financial and economic impacts of the pandemic on business and the country’s economy at large.

Let’s dive into more details on the MSME survival grant and the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme.

What is MSME GRANT?

The MSME grant is a funding from the federal government for Micro, Small and Medium business owners.

The purpose of this grant is to enable business owners in Nigeria retain their employees by paying them their salary.

It would also enable business owners employ new members of staff (if necessary) so as to keep the business running and to eradicate unemployment in the country by a reasonable percentage.

Unlike loans, you do not have to pay back this money given to you by the government. It is the goal of the federal government to save about 1.3 million jobs across the country.

the government also wishes to impact the lives of thirty-five thousand people in each state. Hence, this grant comes in quite handy.

Is MSME GRANT free?

Yes, the grant is free. However, there are certain conditions or criteria that have been put in place. To qualify for the grant, you have to meet these set criteria.

After you qualify for the grant, you’ll be entitled to an amount of money as immediate relief funding from the government for three months after which funding would cease.

By then, the government hopes that your business would have gotten back on its feet and the economic status of your business boosted.

How do I qualify for a small business (MSME) grant?

There are certain criteria that you have to meet to qualify for this MSME grant. Below are the criteria. Keep reading to see if you tick all the boxes.

• You have to be the owner or proprietor of the MSME you are going to register. In other words, ensure that the business you are going to register in this initiative is your business and not your sister’s or friend’s.
• You but be a Nigerian as it is only open to Nigerians, not immigrants.
• The business must have been registered with CAC.
• You must have a means of identification like your national identity card.
• You must have your BVN
• To apply for this grant, you are required to have a SMEDAN Number. If you do not have one, kindly visit the SMEDAN website to get one. The site is www.smedanregister.ng. once you register, an activation code would be delivered to your phone number or email (based on your preference). Use this activation code to activate your account which would be where you’ll continue and complete your registration to secure your SMEDAN number.

GUARANTEED OFFTAKE SCHEME REGISTRATION.

Unlike the MSME survival fund, the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme (GOS) is targeted at helping MSME owners sustain their business and safeguard their incomes from the negative impacts of the pandemic.

It would also enlarge the production capacities of MSMEs. Hence, you can refer to the GOS as the second arm of the MSME grant.

Once you qualify for this scheme, you’ll be entitled to receive funding from the government for three months.

Nevertheless, the government plans to help over five hundred thousand MSMEs with the sum of N50,000 each.

The above stipulated amount would help these businesses alleviate the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.

Under this initiative, the government has prepared an addition N30,000- N50,000 each to enable employees pay the salaries of their staff.

The sum of N30,000 would also be given to over 300,000 transportation businesses to help boost their income and cover the loss they incurred during the lockdown and pandemic.

In addition, the government plans to bulk purchase products from over 100,000 business to further alleviate the damages caused by the pandemic.

Criteria and requirements

• Nigerian Owned business registered with CAC
• Business must have more than 3 employed staff
• NAFDAC numbers must be imprinted on the product.
• Business owner must have a valid BVN
• You must have a SMEDAN number.
• For Self employed individuals, you must be in the transportation sector as a bus driver, Uber driver, etc or an artisan e.g plumber, etc.

How to Register/Apply for MSME Grant and Guaranteed Offtake Scheme 2022

To apply for both MSME survival grant and the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme, visit;

MSME: http://survivalfund.gov.ng/auth/msme-grant

Guaranteed Offtake Scheme: http://survuvalfund.gov.ng/auth/guaranteed-offtake

Lara