10 Important Things Nigerians Must Know About The N75bn Investment Fund Approved by Buhari

On Wednesday, July 22, the Federal Executive Council, FEC, during its virtual meeting presided by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, approved N75bn youth investment fund.

According to the leadership, the fund will be used in creating massive enterprise, innovative ideas, skills, talents among not less than 68 million youths in the country.

The Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, who confirmed the development after the Thursday FEC meeting noted investment fund will only be enjoyed by people within the age of 18 and 35. He said, “youths within this age group with genuine business ideas would pitch their ideas in any of the 125 microcredit banks across the country,”

The minister insisted that only qualified candidates would have access to the funds at due time.

Giving an update on the investment fund on Friday, July 24, Personal Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on New Media, Bashir Ahmad shared important information all Nigerians should know about the fund categorically slated for Youths.

See below 10 Important Things All Citizens Should Know About The Investment Fund:

1 -The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, approved the establishment of the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund, NYIF, dedicated to investing in the innovative ideas, skills, talents, and enterprise of the Nigerian Youth and aimed at turning them into Entrepreneurs, wealth creators and employers of labour contributing to national development.

2 – A minimum of N25 billion each year in the next 3 years, totalling N75billion will be required to ring-fence the NYIF. For the remaining part of 2020, the initial sum of N12.5 billion will be needed to kick start the NYIF. It is expected that successive governments will keep the fund alive.

3 – The Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) ring-fenced funding that will strictly cater to the investment needs of persons between the ages of 18 and 35 years old.

4 – NYIF marks the start of a National Plan to combat youth unemployment that will drive innovation, fuel entrepreneurship, and support youth SMEs.

5 – NYIF provides a single-window of Investment Fund for the youth thereby creating a common bucket for all Nigerian youth to access Government support. Providing less cumbersome access to credit and finance for the average Nigerian youth with an approved work plan or business idea will help lift thousands of the youth out of poverty and birth a whole generation of entrepreneurs.

6 – The fund aims to reach 500,000 youth annually between 2020 and 2023. Each fund approval will range from N250, 000 to N50, 000,000, with a spread across group applications, individual applications, working capital loans set at 1 year and term loans set at 3 years with single-digit interest rate of 5%.

7 – Disbursement will be through various channels, which will include Micro Credit Organizations across the country under the Central Bank of Nigeria supported by BOI, Fintech Organizations and Venture Capital Organizations, registered with the CBN.

8 – The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (MFBNP) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will provide the financing to kick-start the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

9 – The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development handles the processes for setting up the fund by inaugurating a Board of Trustees Committee under the leadership of the Minister for Youth and Sports Development and possibly work on legislation of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

10 – Youth seeking to benefit from the fund must have a fundable business idea, registered business, be a citizen of Nigeria, present recognized means of identification and guarantors.

Meanwhile, the personal assistant on New Media to President Muhammadu Buhari, Ahmad Bashir, has debunked the report that the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission, has been dissolved.