More than 1,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Cross River State, southern Nigeria, are set to receive financial support aimed at boosting business growth and creating employment.
The programme, spanning all 18 local government areas of the state, will provide beneficiaries not only with funding but also with technical assistance from strategic partners, including the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) and the state-owned Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA).
Today, I officially unveiled the Owan-Enoh MSMEs Support Program at the NUJ Centre Calabar, an initiative designed to empower entrepreneurs, business owners, and startups with grants ranging from ₦150,000 to ₦500,000.
This program goes beyond the disbursement of funds. It… pic.twitter.com/PxItnhRxMN
— Senator John Owan Enoh (@OwanEnoh) August 29, 2025
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Senator John Owan-Enoh, launched the funding scheme tagged “JOE-MSME Support Initiative”, which is meant to provide grants to the selected beneficiaries as a private intervention for small businesses.
According to Senator Owan-Enoh, whose initials are JOE, the financial support is to lift struggling nano, micro, small and medium-scale businesses out of economic doldrums as well as contribute to the expansion of the Cross River State vis-à-vis the Nigerian alternative economy as an individual.
“The JOE-MSME Initiative I have unveiled today was driven by a sincere commitment and responsibility to society. The presence of stakeholders in the growth of the nation’s economy at this unveiling is a testament to the importance of building the Cross River private sector,” he stated.
The Minister of State reiterated the significance of micro, small and medium enterprises to economic growth, maintaining that private sector industries and manufacturing remained the greatest employers of labour globally.
Owan-Enoh further acknowledged the deliberate interventions of the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State geared towards MSMEs development and imbuing entrepreneurial spirit in the unemployed.
He continued, “My hope is that the little contribution I make by unveiling this intervention adds to the efforts of the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who has released billions of naira in grants for different categories of businesses and Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu, who just some weeks back did the same intervention for retirees.”
Senator Owan-Enoh also disclosed that renowned journalist and social activist Agba Jalingo has been given the mandate to select the beneficiaries for the intervention across the state.
The minister again said, “For me, this is an opportunity to continue to do the work that we have tried to always do. I have always announced very proudly that the reason I am in public office is to see how I can create and add to the happiness of people. I may not be giving all the billions that are needed to be given, but we are starting somewhere.
“Our hope is to sustain this effort. The idea is for each beneficiary to present a proposal that would require between ₦100,000 (One hundred thousand naira) and ₦500,000 (five hundred thousand naira) to fund. I am going to have about a thousand people at the first approximation as beneficiaries of this programme,” the minister said.
While urging Agba Jalingo and the team to remain apolitical, he strongly condemned the practice of some people, who, after collecting starter packs or equipment, resold them for physical cash, a later depletion on temporary wants, plunging such persons further into the crevices of poverty and suffering.
Beneficiary criteria
In a brief remark, the JOE-MSME Support Initiative team lead, Comrade Jalingo, explained that there were two beneficiary categories with 4 grant award batches carefully documented in the available forms published on its website.
Jalingo further stated that one major criterion for selection is for beneficiaries to indicate the place of business premises rather than the state or local government of origin.