By SALISU SANI-IDRIS

The Job Creation and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Secretariat (Office of the Vice-President) says over 60, 000 small business entrepreneurs across the country so far, applied for the 2025 MSMEs award.

Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the secretariat on March 3, announced that overall winner of the 2025 MSMEs Award would receive a car, a house, a shop, and a cash prize value of N700 million.

Adekunle-Johnson recalled that the portal for the submission of applications for the 2025 National MSMEs Awards was opened on Friday March 7, following a news conference by the Awards Committee.

According to him, during the news conference, a new category for persons living with disabilities was announced.

?About three weeks into the submission of entries, over 60,000 applications from small business entrepreneurs across the country had been received with agricultural based enterprises leading the pack.

?And it is closely followed by enterprises in the Information and Digital Technology sector, the Creative Industry, Leather works, Furniture and Wood Work, Manufacturing and Fashion, Beauty and Cosmetics, and from persons living with disabilities.

The presidential aide noted that the applications received so far for the 2025 competition had come from businesses operating in virtually every part of the country.

?From Lagos to Aba; Kaduna to Maiduguri; Makurdi to Birnin Kebbi; Damaturu to Abakaliki and many other locations across the country.

?The huge interest shown by small enterprises across the country reflects the integrity and significance of the awards in galvanising support and growth in the MSMEs space in Nigeria.?

Adekunle-Johnson stated that the incentives earmarked for the 2025 awardees underscored the Federal Government?s and private sector commitment to transforming the MSME space in Nigeria.

?This is in recognition of MSMEs contribution to economic development and job creation.?

He said the feedback from the technical team, regarding the submission of applications was encouraging.

Adekunle-Johnson, however, urged more small enterprises to leverage the great opportunity by sending in their entries as the portal remained open till April 7.

?They are encouraged to go to https://msmeclinics.gov.ng/ and complete the application process,? he said. (NAN)

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