Lagos supports 2,204 businesses in one year to reduce unemployment
by Gbenga Salau
Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Yetunde Arobieke said the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) has supported 2,204 businesses to expand with the aim of reducing unemployment in the state.
Speaking at the Year 2020 annual ministerial press briefing to mark the one year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in office, Arobieke: “LSETF serves as an instrument to inspire the creative and innovative energies of all Lagos residents and reduce unemployment across the State
“For the period between May 29,2019, and May 29, 2020, LSETF had supported 2,204 businesses. Loans programme-,1,167, employability-967 and Lagos innovates-70,” she noted.
According to her, the Fund organized Employment Summit in February 2020, adding that “part of the objective of the summit was to influence government policy to improve results and outcomes for target groups, i.e. women, youth and entrepreneurs.”
She further said the summit, whose participants were carefully selected, discussed “strategies that promote job creation through skills development, applied technology and entrepreneurship.”
The commissioner disclosed that the Fund has put a measure in place to ameliorate the impact of coronavirus pandemic on loan beneficiaries, saying that the beneficiaries would have to apply for a moratorium on repayments.
In her words, “Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Loan beneficiaries can now apply for a moratorium on their loan repayments. For the avoidance of doubt, only performing loan beneficiaries and beneficiaries with past-due obligations of not more than 60 days can apply.”
The Commissioner also noted that the Fund would support SMEs as a way of saving jobs, adding that the ministry would organize private internship programme that would offer 4,000 unemployed youth training.
She explained that “the training which would be for a month and six months hands-on work experience in the private sector towards potential full-time employment.
“Prospective participants would be harvested from the databases of the five job centres covering the 57 local governments and local council development areas,” the Commissioner stated.