The Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government launched the Lagos Market Trader Moni Initiative on Wednesday, which would provide N50,000 in cash to each of the state’s 15,000 traders to help them grow their companies.
Sanwo-Olu, who unveiled the scheme at LTV8, Agidingbi, and Ikeja, said the recipients were chosen through a thorough procedure.
The governor stated that 200 recipients were chosen from markets in each of the 57 local government districts and council development regions.
“750 beneficiaries were identified from markets within the barracks and military formations across the state in collaboration with their respective Iyaloja and Babaloja. This brings the total number of beneficiaries to 15,000.
“To ensure fairness in the selection process while demonstrating the spirit of Lagos as being home to all, the beneficiaries were drawn from across all the geopolitical zones of the nation, with 11,039 from the South-West, 914 from the South-East, 868 from the South-South, 1,710 from the North-Central, 373 from the North-West, and 107 from the North-East,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He noted that 74% of the beneficiaries were women, with the remaining 26% being men.
He stated that 33.7% of them are under the age of 40, while 66.3 percent are over the age of forty.
Abisola Olusanya, the Commissioner for Agriculture, explained that “this initiative is part of the government’s efforts towards ensuring sustainable livelihoods and wealth creation for traders across the state.”
He stated that the Iyaloja/Babaloja General picked 50 beneficiaries from each LGA/LCDA in Lagos State, for a total of 14,250 dealers.
