By Lawrence Mpama
The formal and informal businesses subsector in Cross River State are to receive the needed boost as the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan-Enoh, launches a N500 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) grant to assist entrepreneurs and artisans across the state.
Owan-Enoh also used the occasion to inform the media of the Unveiling of the automative training centres in the state to train the more than 1000 would be beneficiaries of the scheme at Ernest Etim Bassey Press Centre Calabar, Cross River State
According to the former Senate committee chairman on finance and appropriation, the MSME grant is a personal initiative aim at supporting the formal and informal subsectors in the state to grow thereby generate employment opportunities for millions of young people roaming the streets without any hope of getting government jobs.
This initiative he stated, is separate from federal and state government programmes. It is designed to support both formal and informal business operators, with formal businesses applying online and informal sector workers such as artisans, welders, food vendors, and roadside mechanics receiving printed application forms distributed across the 18 local government areas of the state.
Senator Owan-Enoh explained that, the intervention is a grant, not a loan, intended to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and help young people and artisans build sustainable livelihoods rather than being diverted for political or short-term expenses.
He pointed out that, the initiative aligns with federal government efforts to boost small scale industries and manufacturing, with the current administration allocating N500 billion in the 2025 budget to the Bank of Industry (BoI) for MSME lending at single-digit interest rates. The minister of the state for industry, stated that the Cross River State governor, Prince Bassey Otu, has also given a N1 billion counterpart fund to BoI, creating a marching facility to further support small businesses in the state,”.
Senator Owan-Enoh highlighted his recent visits to free trade zones in Lagos and Cross River, and tertiary institutions where the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) is setting up Automotive Training Centres. These projects, coupled with the MSMEs fund, he emphasized, “aim to build a strong private sector and reduce reliance on government employment.”
He emphasizes that, “In a country of over 250 million people, MSMEs remain the engine of growth. This effort, though modest, will help our people realize that not everyone must wait for government jobs. Industry and entrepreneurship remain the future of employment,”.
A foremost journalist and activist Agba Jalingo, a member of the implementation committee, assured that the funds would be managed transparently. He said that the programme will run in four batches, each supporting 150 formal sector beneficiaries and 325 informal sector beneficiaries distributed evenly across the 18 local government areas.
He asserted that beneficiaries will receive between N100,000 – 150,000 for the informal sector, while the beneficiaries of the formal sector will receive N500,000 in procurement not cash, after completing a compulsory one-week entrepreneurship training conducted across the three senatorial districts.
He averred that, “This is not government money; it is a private initiative of the Minister. Not a dime will be stolen. Our duty is to ensure every kobo goes directly to the people who need it most.
Agba explained further that, “Applications can be submitted online at hmindustry.ng, with physical forms available for artisans and small-scale operators without internet access,”.
