Kenneth Afor |
Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor on Wednesday announced the approval of the sum of N1 billion as seed capital for tourism business in the state.
The governor made this known at the 6th Lagos Corporate Assembly held at the Banquet Hall in the State House, Alausa.
According to the Sanwo-Olu, the seed capital is aimed at boosting the state’s hospitality sector which will provide soft loans for key business owners to ramp up their capacity generating growth.
The governor hinted that the initiative would propel the sector to be the next phase in pioneering job creation and paving the way for economic growth in the post-COVID-19 era.
He added that a larger chunk of the funds will be accessible for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operators in the sector which will be domiciled in the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) with collaboration with the country’s apex bank.
“We have just given approval for N1 billion support that will be given out through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund to support hospitality business in the State. The beneficiaries of this fund will go through screening in line with the requirement of the agency. We are making this investment because of the huge potential for job creation and inclusive growth this sector can bring about.
“We will be working with the CBN for more funding to fully develop the potential of our tourism sector. This effort is being completed with the rolling out of 3,000 km optical fibre across the State to provide technological infrastructure for the MSMEs whose operations would depend on fast Internet networks to drive their businesses,” said the governor.
In another development, the governor disclosed that the state has commenced the first phase of the laying of 6,000km optic fibre cables across the state which would provide technological infrastructure to support MSMEs in the state.
Also, the state has made frantic efforts to promote the growth of private investment and the state’s economy through its Ease of Doing Business policies through the introduction of digitisation of business registration and asset acquisition processes, which has removed administrative bottlenecks.
The state has also taken steps to grant three-year waiver on penalty for land use charge defaulters which is aimed at reducing the burden on Lagosians.
“We are granting a waiver of three years in late payment, which covers 2017, 2018 and 2019. We are also giving 25 per cent special discount on early payment. By this, we have achieved a 48 per cent reduction for businesses in chargeable rates by repealing the 2018 Land Use Laws.
“We are taking these steps to show that we are not being insensitive to the plight of businesses and residents, especially in this period of pandemic that have slowed down activities. We have been doing everything possible to make sure businesses are not choked by taxes,” the governor added.
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