How To Access The N75bn Youth Investment Fund
When the Federal Government approved the establishment of the N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), hundreds of thousands young Nigerians were excited about the innovation. They believe it could reduce the increasing unemployment rate, and the general economic hardship now worsened by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country.
In a report from Vanguard, it was realized that most of them are ignorant of how to access the Fund and the purpose it was actually designed to address. Below are steps to access the facility and all you need to know about the scheme.
Basic requirements
Potential beneficiaries are expected to: – Have a fundable or bankable business idea.
-The fund is made available to registered businesses only.
– The business owner must be a Nigerian
– The prospective beneficiary must have a current recognised means of identification
– The prospective beneficiary is expected to provide a guarantor.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports said that the safeguards built around some specifics being crafted around the fund will ensure that potential beneficiaries do not need to know anyone or be “connected” to access the fund.
All processes are handled by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
Who qualifies?
It is meant to cater to the investment needs of the young citizens between ages 18 and 35 years.
Applications for the Fund are accepted from both individual businessmen and groups with common business entity and identity.
Fund sponsors
The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (MFBNP) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will provide the financing to kick-start the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF). It is part of the National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) approved recently by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the effort to counter the adverse impact of the COVID-19 on Nigeria’s economy.
Loan amount
The loan amount ranges from N250,000 to N50 million. The amount per beneficiary depends on the size of the business it is meant to fund.
Group applicants are expected to give breakdown of the units of members of the group requiring specific amount upon which the total amount would be determined.
The loan is also given either as a working capital loan set at one year or term loan set at three years with a single-digit interest rate of 5%.
The federal government plans to disburse the loans in three tranches of N25 billion each year in the next three years. But it is expected that for the remaining parts of 2020, about N12.5 billion will be released to kick start the NYIF. It is expected that successive governments will keep the fund alive.
Disbursement
The loan would be disbursed through various channels like Micro Credit Organisations across the country under the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, supported by the Bank of Industry, BoI, Fintech Organisations and Venture Capital Organisations registered with the CBN.
Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/08/how-to-access-the-n75bn-youth-investment-fund/
