Beneficiaries of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), who are more than 8,000, have created 11,268 new jobs since inception of the scheme, according to data made available by the Fund.

Recall that the Fund was established by the Lagos State government in 2016, by investing N25 billion over four years, to provide financial support to residents of the State engaged in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for job, wealth creation and to tackle unemployment with a loan of up to N5 million at 5 percent interest.

Available report as at end of April, 2018, shows that a total sum of N5.97 billion has been approved to 8,091 beneficiaries, while loans totaling N5.09 billion have been disbursed to 6,172 beneficiaries as at February 2018.

Executive Secretary, LSETF, Akintunde Oyebode, at the 2018 Social Media Week in Lagos, stated: “By the end of March this year, the number of businesses that have accessed loans would have been raised to 8,000. This number will have hit 15,000 by the end of the year. “We even expect an improvement in the later years if businesses key into our innovation-driven enterprise framework, the Lagos Innovate, a set of programmes designed to support innovation-driven start-ups in the state.”

Under the Lagos Innovates programme, LSETF said 23 beneficiaries have been awarded workspace vouchers to enable them work freely at tech-hubs with access to internet connection and power supply, while one hub loan has been approved.

“Our goal is to make Lagos the destination for innovation and technology in Africa. Already, we have raised $1million from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to drive this,” Oyebode said.

Also under its Employability programme, 1018 trainees have been certified; 150 trainees have been through employment placement processes; 90 have been employed while 32 have pending employment offers.

SOURCE: VANGUARD