Business
1,000 Edo Cooperatives, Others Register For GEEP

The Edo State Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday disclosed that 1, 000 farmers, business cooperators and market associations had registered for the Federal Government’s General Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in the state.
The Director of Commerce, Mr Joel Edionwe, announced this in Benin while addressing newsmen on the implementation of the enterprise programme.
Edionwe said that GEEP was part of the Federal Government Social Investment Programme geared towards the empowerment of petty traders, market women, small scale farmers and artisans in the country.
He said the scheme was hoping to register over 120,000 cooperatives and associations in the state to benefit from soft loans, ranging from N10,000 to N100,000 in the first phase of the programme.
“We have called for expression of interest; the programme is for cooperatives and not for individuals; but individuals are allowed to form associations.
‘’So far, over 600 co-operative societies and 400 associations have come to take the expression of interest form.’’
The director said the loan had a repayment period of six months and a moratorium of between two to three weeks.
He said at the completion of repayment of the loan disbursed at the first phase, the beneficiaries would have qualified for the second phase, with the volume of loan put at N250,000.
He added that the Federal Government appointed agent for the programme in the state in charge of the disbursement of the loans to the qualified beneficiaries.