Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, 8th of October presented the 2021 budget for Nigeria to lawmakers. Amidst the ongoing crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the budget which totals a record N13.08 trillion ($34.4 billion) is a 21% rise from the revised 2020 spending plan of N10.8 trillion.
The President disclosed in his statement that the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) will be funded with N420 billion in 2021 and the National Social Housing Programme (NISH) funded with N20 billion.
“I fully understand the difficulties many of our people are going through with the implementation of our reform agenda. However, the measures we are implementing are necessary for sustainable public finance, better allocation of our scarce resources and improved public service delivery. As we implement these reforms, social safety nets will be implemented to cushion the effect of the most vulnerable of our citizens as well as business owners.” – President Muhammadu Buhari.
The President also stated that the government has introduced N75 billion Survival Fund Programme to support and protect businesses from potential vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is reducing the interest rate on its intervention facilities from 9% to 5% with a 1-year moratorium till 31st March 2021, to provide concessional lending of N100 billion to households and small businesses, amongst others.
“In furtherance of our inclusiveness agenda, the sum of N420 billion has been provided to sustain the Social Investment Programme. N20 billion has also been set aside for the Family Homes Fund, our Social Housing Programme. We have expanded our National Social Register, to include an additional one million Nigerians following the onset of Coronavirus. We recently introduced the N75 billion Survival Fund Programme to support and protect businesses from potential vulnerabilities.” – President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) which is a micro-lending intervention that targets traders, artisans, farmers, and women, in particular, will be providing loans between N10,000 and N100,000 at no monthly cost.
What This Means for the Fashion Industry
With the N75 billion set aside to protect businesses from vulnerabilities, fashion entrepreneurs can access funds to help keep their businesses going. Also, with CBN’s reduction in interest rates on lending of N100 billion to household and small businesses, SMEs in the fashion industry can access funds at much lower interest rates.
The GEEP loans will also come in handy for female fashion entrepreneurs as they will be able to access funds up to N100,000 without having to pay monthly interest on it.
This means that SMEs in the fashion industry will have enough funds to help their growth and bigger brands can have access to funds that will help keep their businesses afloat in case of unforeseen circumstances.
