Tradermoni: We’ll Target ‘Senior Traders’ With N100,000 Upward Soon – Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday says the All Progressive Congress, APC-led administration would soon launch another programme, “Market Money” that would target those he called ‘senior traders’ with interest-free loan from the range of N100,000 to N500,000 upward.

The Vice President stated this while flagging off the tradermoni scheme in Warri, Delta state.

Speaking at the palace of Olu of Warri,  Ogiame Ikenwoli where he was first received, Prof. Osinbajo said that the first phase of the “TraderMoni Scheme” would be targeting two million taders with a view to supporting their businesses as well as reducing poverty and empowering them.

According to him, the “tradermoni” was designed for petty traders, saying, “we’ve looked at the whole commercial landscape of Nigeria. The largest number of people engaged in commerce, are petty traders.

He said that the scheme was one among other programmes that was initiated by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari.

BigPen Online reports that Osinbajo noted however that some members of the National Assembly who earlier approved the “Trader Money Scheme” no longer support it but didn’t give reason for their disapproval.

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“Today, I am here to flag off what we know as the trader money scheme. The trader money scheme is one of those schemes that was initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“They are small traders. Table top trader.  Some of them sell on roadside. Their inventories is usually not more two thousand naira, three thousand naira, and five thousand naira.

“The President then decided following an experience he had with the Katsina foundation that it is better to give these petty traders some money as a loan, ten thousand naira, and when they pay back the ten thousand, we give them fifteen thousand naira, when they pay back the fifteen thousand naira, we give them twenty thousand naira and we keep increasing all the way up to hundred thousand naira so long as they pay back.

“That is the design of the trader money because we want to enable it at the lowest rung of the ladder and we strongly believe that is a way to empower.

Prof. Osinbanjo expressed confidence that the “The trader money” is the right thing for our people. Our people deserved to be helped, they deserved to be supported.”

According to him, “We will be at two markets including the Warri market. The Ughelli market, off course we will be there but that will be in January. We are going to do extensive work.

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“The market here in Warri, we are starting today. The enumerators will be here going and coming up until January when we are satisfy the locals who are here because we intend to ensure that the traders as possible get it.

“We have another programme which we call “Market Money”. That’s not traders money. That’s for very senior traders. They’re bigger than the petty traders. It will be between a hundred thousand to three fifty thousand and even five hundred thousand naira.

“Once we able to give those who are in that bracket, once they pay back, we open bank account for them. Through the bank account, they will be able to get insurance, health insurance coverage for themselves so that they too can become proper business people rather than just petty traders and we’ll guide them all the way, step by step in their own objectives as per business people in this country”, he added.