Edo to empower over 3,000 MSMEs

The Managing Director, Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO), Kelvin Uwaibi on Thursday disclosed that the Edo State government is set to break new ground with a N300m partnership grant to empower over 3,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises across the State.

Briefing newsmen in Benin, Uwaibi, said that empowerment, which is in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Bank of Industry (BOI), is geared towards fostering a conducive business environment.

He noted that the State government had entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (BoI) and LAPO Microfinance bank.

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According to him, the MoU facilitated the launch of N2,000,000,000 (two billion Naira) to support 50, 000 MSMEs to support the ease of doing business in the state.

He also listed the establishment of a one-stop shop to serve as a centralized platform for businesses to access different services as one of the agency’s milestones.

“In addition, the agency has been working on tax unification to prevent multiple and illegal taxation towards a hitch-free hassle in the ease of doing businesses in the state.”