Post COVID-19 Plan will Save, Create 5M Jobs – FG

The post-coronavirus economic recovery plan of the Federal Government will save and create about five million jobs, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Richard Adebayo, has said.

Adebayo, in a statement on Thursday, said plans were underway to save about 1.4 million jobs of citizens across the country.

He said 40 per cent of these jobs were in female-owned micro, small and medium enterprises, while 10 per cent in businesses belonged to people with special needs.

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Adebayo explained that the move was part of his ministry’s input in playing a leading role in the Federal Government’s delivery of real sector interventions as contained in its economic sustainability plan in the wake of the global pandemic.

The minister said three programmes had been designed to achieve this and outlined them as the MSME Survival Fund, Guaranteed Off-take Stimulus Scheme and Credit Support to MSMEs.

Adebayo said, “These interventions will save and create about five million jobs, support continued operations, and increase production capacity in priority sectors, as well as protect MSMEs from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We expect that the Survival Fund will save 1.4 million jobs across the country with 40 per cent of them in the female-owned MSMEs and 10 per cent in businesses owned by persons with special needs.”