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BUSINESS OWNERS IN C'RIVER SET TO SMILE, AS MINISTER UNVEILS THE OWAN-ENOH N500m MSMEs INTERVENTION PROGRAM

 


BY Alobo Ishmael Eba 

The Honourable Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh-JOE  on Friday, August 29th, 2025 officially unveiled the Owan-Enoh MSME  intervention program in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, doling out a 500m naira grant to beneficiaries who successfully scale through the application processes. 

Addressing the press during the unveiling, the Minister stated that the intervention program is a personal project geared towards empowering and supporting Micro,  Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state through grants ranging from 500 to 150 thousand naira each. 

He stated that "There is a 500 million naira earmarked for this intervention program. This fund will be distributed evenly across the 18 Local Governments in the state. The scheme is designed to give financial support to business owners without the burden of repayment". 


On the modalities of selection, the Minister stated that he has no hand in the selection process. According to him "At any point in time, we are concerned about the modalities for implementation. And the committee and my SA on Intervention Programme will handle the selection processes. For the formal sector, you get a maximum amount of 500 thousand naira while the informal sector gets 150 thousand as maximum support. Everyone who makes an application will be required to submit a proposal and defend their budget". 

On the issue of beneficiaries, Sen. Owan highlighted that " It is not only for Cross Riverians alone. As long as you have your business in Cross River and you are contributing to the economy of the state and you apply and meet the requirements, you will definitely benefit".  He added that the program will be scalled up with time depending on the success rate recorded in this first phase. 

On his part, the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Mr. Agba Jalingo read out the modalities for the program. According to him "Like the Minister has said, there is 500 million grant up for grab. We have the formal and informal sector. For the formal sector, people will apply through a website (hmindustry.ng) while for those in the informal sector, forms have been printed to be shared across the 18 LGA. For the formal sector, 500-200 thousand will be given to beneficiaries and 150 thousand for the informal sector. The beneficiaries will be evenly distributed across the 18 LGAs and will be picked based on  the LGA where their businesses are located". Citizen Agba added that "Selected beneficiaries will undergo a compulsory one week Entrepreneurial training in partnership with SMEDAN". 

He assured of credibility in the selection process as according to him "I want to assure everyone that not one naira will be stolen from this fund". 

Also speaking the Special Assistant to the Minister on Intervention Programmes, Engr. Sylvester Ogar reiterated that "The forms that will soon be released indicates that they are two segments which contains your personal details and Business segment. The grant will be given based on the Local Government where the business is located". He added that ministry is partnering with SMEDAN to train the selected beneficiaries. Thereafter, they will pass through mentorship phase in partnership with the Calabar Chamber of Commerce. According to him "We are trying to do something different from the past in order to have the best result".

The Committee in charge of the selection process will in the days ahead be updating Cross Riverians and Residents who are business owners on how to get the forms for those in the informal sector which covers petty traders, artisans and small scale operators who may not have access to digital platforms while those in the formal sectors can start sending their application through the website- https://hmindustry.ng

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