At least 180 participants of the Special Public Works Programme (SPWP) from Borno State who ventured into micro businesses have begun to reap financial benefits.
The participants, who were mostly jobless, used the money paid to them for the programme to start and grow businesses with a view to becoming self-reliant.
They had received basic business training on the practical skills to employ themselves from the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
They also had advanced basic business training that was further organized for the participants by the directorate.
Fatima Tahir from Gomari, Konduga Local Government Area said during the advanced basic business training in Maiduguri, that she used the N60,000 paid to her after the SPWP to start a clothing business at home which turns more profit than projected.
A 65-year-old man, Modu Umara, from Kauri in Konduga LGA said the money he earned from SPWP was invested in agriculture which is expected to provide reliable returns.
Umara who was among the returnees in Kauri went into cowpea production; he said the crop yields bumper harvest.
He said as life gradually returns to normal after the insurgency, people have access to farmlands as he called on federal and state authorities to provide grants to rural farmers.
Ajiya Abubakar from Jakana, Konduga LGA who started a snacks business with the money she earned from the programme admits that though she makes money from the venture, the sudden rise in the prices of cooking oil is affecting her profit.
The State Coordinator, NDE, Mrs Mairo Aliyu Betara said the training was meant to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the participants before or after launching their respective business ventures. She said the skills would help them grow their businesses and become self-sufficient.
Betara said certificates were given to the participants at the end of the training which could be used to obtain loans and grants.
