The world’s largest social media, Facebook has launched a Small Business Grants Programme in Nigeria to support businesses that were badly affected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the company, 781 small businesses in Nigeria will benefit from a ₦500m grant as part of its $100m Global Grants Programme.
The program which started earlier this year aims to support 30,000 Small and Medium Scale Business (SMBs) in over 30 countries including Nigeria.
The funds which will be released in cash grants and ad credits will help empower and extend a lifeline to local small business owners who have been most affected.
This will be achieved by helping businesses keep their workforce going strong, help with rent and operational costs, help connect with more customers, and support their community.
To be eligible for Facebook Small Business Grant, you must:
There are several requirements that must be met to be eligible to benefit from the Facebook grant. The first is that you must have between 2 and 50 employees.
Secondly, the business must be over a year old. So you must have established the company before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Also, you must have experienced significant challenges due to the pandemic.
You will also be required to supply your most recent financial statements or accounts along with a legal document proving that your business has been established for at least one year, such as your annual tax return, business registration document (CAC documents), business license or partnership agreement.
Consequently, your business must be in or near a location where Facebook operates. So if your business is based in Nigeria you qualify.
If you meet the above requirements you will need the following documents when applying; the latest annual return of your business, your business registration or business license, Partnership Agreements, and your 2019 financial statements.
However, you cannot apply on behalf of your business if you are a current government official or relative of a government official. You will be asked to confirm you are not a government official as part of the application form.
How to Apply for Facebook Small Business Grant
For the application process in Nigeria, Facebook has partnered with Deloitte Ireland LLP and Quest Computing Ltd who will be administering the application process.
The application will be available to qualified SMBs in Nigeria, from 24th August 2020 for the North East (Adamawa, Bauchi), North West (Kaduna, Kano) and South East (Abia, Anambra) regions and 26th August 2020 for the South West(Lagos, Ogun, Oyo), South-South (Edo, Delta, Rivers) and North Central (Abuja, Kwara, Kogi) regions.
You can click here to proceed with the grant application. SMBs can also check here to see whether they are eligible or find out more details about the program.