Facebook rolls out N500m grant to support small businesses in Nigeria

Global technology giant, Facebook has announced a ₦500 million (about $1,295,873) grant to support small businesses in Nigeria.

1st News reports that the grant is part its $100m Global Grants Programme announced earlier this year. Equally important, the programme aims to support 30,000 small businesses in over 30 countries. Furthermore, the motivation for the grant is driven by the desire to support these businesses and stimulate economic recovery in the wake of the harsh effects of the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic.

This much was confirmed by Facebook in its release on the business support facility.

‘‘We know that your business may be experiencing disruptions resulting from the global outbreak of COVID-19; especially companies that are running cross-border business. We’ve heard that a little financial support can go a long way…So, we’re offering USD 100M in cash grants and ad credits to help during this challenging time.’’

In addition, Facebook believes the grants will assist the beneficiaries keep their workforce going strong; help them out with rent and other operational costs; enable them connect with more customers and support their community.

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The application process will be administered by Deloitte and Quest Computing Ltd. Specifically, the grant will be provided as a combination of cash and advertising credits to small businesses.

Applications are open to qualified businesses starting from Monday, August 24, 2020.

To qualify for the grants, the intending business must have between two and 50 employees. Also, the entity must have been in business for over a year and must have experienced challenges due to COVID-19.

In addition, the intending beneficiary business must be in or near a location where Facebook operates.

Meanwhile, applicants must have certain documents available when applying for the grants.

These include the company’s latest annual returns, business registration/business license, partnership agreement as well as its 2019 financial statements.

(source: 1stNews)