Lagos State Government, yesterday, said that more than N15 billion had been disbursed to over 20,000 small and medium-scale businesses through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).

This, it said, would help to create over 320,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state.

Executive Secretary of LSETF, Feyisayo Alayande, disclosed this during a media parley in Ikeja, Lagos, where she presented the agency’s 10-year impact report and outlined its contribution to employment generation, enterprise development and wealth creation.

Alayande said that the Fund, established in 2016 to tackle unemployment and support entrepreneurship, had become a critical driver of economic empowerment by providing access to finance, skills development, market opportunities and technology support for Lagos residents.

According to her, the agency has also helped to preserve more than 173,000 jobs that could have been lost, while over 82,000 small businesses have benefited from capacity-building programmes designed to strengthen their operations and improve sustainability.

She, however, revealed that more than 30,000 young people had been trained and connected to employment opportunities through various interventions, while the Lagos Innovates initiative has supported over 1,200 technology startups and developed more than 3,300 tech talents.

Alayande described the figures as evidence of targeted investments in entrepreneurship and human capital development.

She noted that one of the agency’s most significant achievements is its loan repayment performance, revealing that beneficiaries have maintained a repayment rate of 94.53 per cent.

The Executive Secretary stressed that access remains one of the biggest challenges facing many aspiring entrepreneurs and job seekers, noting that talent alone is often not enough to succeed without access to funding, training, markets and professional networks.

She, however, recounted the story of a woman living with disability who benefited from a skills acquisition programme supported by Lafarge, learning mobile phone repairs and subsequently establishing a sustainable livelihood.

Alayande also referenced a female entrepreneur who participated in the Lagos Innovates programme and later showcased her innovation at GITEX, one of the world’s leading technology exhibitions.