Alex Otti, governor, Abia State, has said that the N306 million grant, called NKATA, is to support technology driven businesses across the 17 local governments of the state.
The governor unveiled the programme while receiving the management team of Abia State Technology Skills Acquisition Centre (ATSAC) in Umuahia.
Governor Otti noted that the programme, a carefully targeted macroeconomic intervention, is capable of raising business productivity, strengthening local enterprises, widening the tax base, creating employment and accelerating the emergence of a technology-enabled economy across the 17 local government areas of the state, with a strong emphasis on youths, small businesses, entrepreneurship, innovation and digital transformation, adding that, “the grant could turn Abia’s small businesses into a new engine of growth.”
He explained that the N306 million intervention fund had already been earmarked for qualified beneficiaries who meet the programme’s requirements, expressing optimism that the initiative would produce a measurable impact.
He said: “I want to congratulate everyone. The N306 million is available, but beneficiaries must meet all necessary conditions. In a few months’ time, I want to hear that this intervention has yielded results, not just in monetary terms, but also in job creation, poverty reduction and empowerment of our people.”
The Abia governor said the programme aligns with his administration’s vision of building a productive, self reliant and innovation-driven economy.
The most significant aspect of NKATA, the governor stressed, is not even the amount involved, but its deeper economic meaning, which lies in the structure of the intervention, adding that: “The programme is not designed as an indiscriminate cash-distribution exercise in which beneficiaries simply receive money that may immediately disappear into pressing household consumption.
“Rather, ATSAC has explained that support will be channelled through technology service providers, software companies, hardware suppliers, internet service providers and business mentors, who will help to select businesses, acquire practical tools capable of improving operations, efficiency, competitiveness and growth.”
