*Beyond 10k TraderMoni Noise on Social Media*

By Oladele Peter

Petty traders are often those women and men who sell certain commodities which are predominantly not sold to the ultimate consumer by the formal sector, examples includes fruits, vegetables, pepper, sachet water, bread, and so on. Petty Traders are highly indispensable in the distribution system providing useful goods to the community especially the lower middle class and the poor. The major problem facing Petty Trading is CAPITAL in the form of loans, which they can’t get from banks.

The Nigerian government under the leadership of President Buhari and his vice Prof. Osinbjo came up with the strategy to fight Hunger, Poverty and Lack of capital by most petty traders; they introduced a Programme called TRADERMONI which is part of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

TraderMoni as a scheme has generated a significant amount of buzz and national conversation: from those who laud its impact to those who view it as politically motivated. TraderMoni is one of three microcredit products of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

GEEP is a microcredit programme that provides much-needed capital to traders, artisans, farmers, petty traders. It is one of the social intervention progammes of the Federal Government, it comprises of three products: MarketMoni, FarmerMoni, and TraderMoni. GEEP was initiated in 2016 by the Federal Government, with an understanding that there are over 30 million Nigerians at the base of the pyramid who are in active commercial activity but never have an opportunity to access credit.

Findings on the TraderMoni programme shows that it is being implemented by the Federal Government and the Bank of Industry to empower petty traders. Tradermoni is an interest-free loans of between N10,000 to N300,000. After you apply and you are pick, you get N10,000 and if you pay back N10,000 you get N15,000 till you reach the top of the ladder which is N300,000. As long as you keep paying back you will keep climbing the ladder.

Research conducted in Utako Market, Abuja, Ikotun Market in Lagos, Ochanja Market in Onitsha, Eke Awka in Awka and Kasuwar Yankaba in Nasarawa, Gusau Central Market and Kebbi Central Market (Through some research assistance) shows that many traders are benefiting from the TraderMoni programmes.

It was learnt that VP Osinbajo never shared cash in any of markets listed above. Traders confirmed that TraderMoni is paid into bank accounts or mobile wallets not in cash to petty traders, which they can cash on their own or with help of relatives. We also found some other Traders who initially denied benefiting from the programme till they were told we are here to fast track their next stage of the programme which is N15,000 and N20,000 respectively at which point their stories changed.

Furthermore, we deduced from the findings that petty trading activity is an important sphere of our economy which plays a significant role in both rural and urban economic life. This sector contributes to higher living standards and greater material prosperity in rural and urban areas by making the goods and services available to the consumers at the right times and at right places

Petty trading also provides employment and income to millions of people who would otherwise lack the means of survival. To some, it even also serves as a breeding ground for entrepreneurship. Therefore, The Federal government should not only increase beneficiaries but also speed up the process. The FG should also create more awareness on TraderMoni and even other parts of GEEP and even the NSIPs in general.

God Bless Nigeria

Oladele Peter writes from Ile-Ife, Osun State