After equipping on financial management, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced the disbursement of N1.4m to petty traders comprising youth and women in Akwa Ibom state.
The soft loan which is under the Micro Enterprise Enhancement Scheme (MEES) will give N20,000 each to 74 beneficiaries totaling N1, 480, 000.
Speaking during the Orientation and Loan Disbursement exercise in Uyo Wednesday, the state coordinator of NDE, Mr. Obegolu Obiora, said the loans will be refunded after the three months moratorium period to help others to also benefit.
Commending the federal government on the initiative, Obiora stated that the funds were given to only those who were already in business to help strengthen its financial flows which would lead to business expansion and job creation.
He said the director-general, Mallam Abubakar Fikpo, had assured of the continuous implementation of laudable empowerment programmes that will help in raising the employment index in the country.
