The Gbenga Hashim Foundation yesterday disbursed N12.5m to small businesses in Kwara State.
This brings the foundation’s total cash empowerment for 2024 in the state to about N100million.
The foundation has in 2024 supported 1,000 small business owners across the 16 local government areas of the state, providing critical funding to help them expand their operations.
At the disbursement ceremony, Mr Gbenga Hashim, represented by Abdulrazaq Hamzat, encouraged beneficiaries to use the grant wisely, emphasising that proper utilisation could qualify them for larger support in the future.
“If you use this small grant well and show us the result of your engagement, you will qualify for another phase which will be bigger,” he stated.
The Ilorin East local government coordinator of the programme, Mr Kolapo Olaitan, said that the beneficiaries were credited before the event.
“We are here as representatives of larger beneficiaries to commend the foundation for this initiative. Gbenga Hashim Foundation did not ask people to converge here to collect empowerment; everyone had already received their funds,” he explained.