The Lagos State Government has launched the Lagos SDGs Grant Competition to fund 51 projects across the 167 targets of SDGs in the State.
The State through the Office of Sustainable Development Goals and Investment said that the move was in line with its strong commitment to shared prosperity.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals and Investment, Mrs. Solape Hammond described the initiative as a strategy of crowdsourcing innovative ideas that can lead to measurable impact on SDGs and offer smarter, faster ways to make real progress on the Goals and transform the society to a more resilient and purposeful city.
She explained that the state government is furthering development commitments by ensuring that necessary systems are put in place to stimulate action and the participation from all stakeholder, from people in the grassroots up to the highest levels of government.
The Grant Competition according to her was conceived as part of the strategy to mobilize collective action to advance progress on the SDGs through social, economic, and environmental initiatives that are positive, transformative, collaborative and scalable.
She said “This initiative is open to Civil Society Organizations, Social Impact Ventures, Non-Governmental Organizations and social entrepreneurs within Lagos state as it will create a broader-based collaboration and amplify the impact of key actors in the SDGs space.”
Application process
Speaking on the process of application, Solape confirmed that applicants who must have successfully pass eligibility screenings will be required to submit 1 project idea that addresses one of the 17 Global SDGs with a specific KPI and an estimate number of persons that will be impacted by the project.
”Submitted projects will be reviewed by a project selection committee who will grant interviews to the most promising applicants after which the sum of N5 million each will be awarded to 3 winning ideas that targets each of the SDGs, making a total of 51 projects’.”
“The process is also automated to ensure transparency and increase the chances of selecting winning ideas and the proposed duration of the competition of the selected projects is 3 months.”
“The applicants are expected to apply on the Lagos State Volunteer Corp website (www.lsvc.ng) to enter the competition, as the programme is expected to help to mainstream the SDGs and encourage civic participation of a diverse class of constituents.” she said
Franchise framework
In scaling up the state government’s effort towards creating wealth and employment opportunities, Solape stated that Office will be facilitating a franchise system for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operating within the State which will access to affordable financial and institutional support.
She maintained that the scheme which is in partnership with Franchiser and Distributor Forum is targeting MSMEs in products manufacturing, services, food and drinks, health and wellness and other personal care services, investors/commercial banks, cooperative societies, media as well as other MSMEs and individuals within the value chains.
300 MSMEs
“This pilot scheme is designed to offer 300 MSMEs to the franchise business system by providing digital infrastructure for all Lagos based franchises available for investment including periodic financing forum for both franchisors and franchisees.
“And the process of application will be made available through all the state’s government’s official channel of communication.”
School initiative
Solape acknowledged that the Office has also initiated some impactful programmes that are all inclusive, particularly the process of institutionalizing SDGs in public secondary schools, so that students can become core participants in the delivery of the global ambition.
She added that besides the setting up of SDGs Club in Public Secondary Schools, a manual book on SDGs for secondary book will be launched to enhance teaching and encourage students to play their roles in building a safe, secure, and prosperous future.
Olusola Akintonde
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