During the Silverbird Television News Hub live show on February 3rd, 2021; a beneficiary of the FG MSME Survival Fund Program Haija Giwa Bashirah Busola, a catering business owner was interviewed and gave a detailed explanation of her experience with the program and how her business and her employees received the funds for 2 months consecutively.

Busola shared that during the lockdown she received a broadcast message about the program which had the link to their website attached, she had heard about it previously as well and decided to click on the link and fill the form for payroll support where she saw the requirements needed to go forward in the application process. She further stated that she has multiple businesses one of which she used to apply for the funds program (Ladhidh Catering And Event Planning); the reason that prompted her to choose her catering business was that during the pandemic they started giving back to their community by serving food to the less privileged which took a toll on the business because any profit they got was used to fund their project to give back and help as much as they should; she was excited because the funds game at opportune time.

She explained that she even had to design payslips for her staff who were usually just paid without one and it was a requirement for the application that a payslip is uploaded; Busola just filled it with the hope that something might come of it because she had asked multiple people for insight on the program and no one had any answers.

Busola expressly stated that she knew no one who was in charge or connected with the program and only got a call to confirm her company address and it was then that she realized that they might be serious also topped by the fact that she had seen on the news that the FG was about to start disbursing the funds. For her business she could only upload pay slips for 3 people because after 3 staff the next qualified number of staff was 10 whereas she had only 6 staff, the 3 staff that she was able to apply for received funds of #30,000 and #50,000 went to her business.

She finished up the interview by stating that she was attacked when she commented on a post that shared the story of another beneficiary on social media, she shared her story and was met with multiple backlash but that didn’t stop her she said, she was grateful for the funds as her sources of income were greatly affected by the pandemic. It gave her peace of mind and one advice she would give to those who are looking to apply is to get adequate documentation and ensure they meet all the requirements before applying.

The Federal Government MSME Survival Fund Program is a part of the Economic Sustainability Plan, which aims to support and protect businesses from the potential vulnerabilities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has 3 parts which any MSME business owner is eligible, the MSME Revolving Guaranteed Off-take Scheme, The Payroll support and MSME Grant.

To apply and receive the funds that can help keep your MSME afloat during this pandemic, click this link https://survivalfund.gov.ng/