Gov. Otti Launches ₦306 Million NKATA Biz Support

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has floated a ₦306 million tech-enabling business grant to support businesses across all 17 local government areas of the State.

Receiving the management team of the Abia State Technology Skills Acquisition Centre, (ATSAC), and unveiling the grant also known as NKATA, Governor Otti reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and creating sustainable economic opportunities for the youths of the state.

The Governor emphasized that the initiative was deliberately designed to accommodate different categories of beneficiaries across the state to ensure inclusiveness and wider access to economic opportunities.

He noted that the total sum of ₦306 million has been earmarked for the  beneficiaries, and maintained that they must meet up with the requirements for benefiting from the project and expressed the hope that the intervention would yield positive results.

“I want to congratulate everyone. The ₦306 million is available, but beneficiaries must meet all the necessary conditions.

“In a few months’ time, I want to hear that this intervention has yielded results, not just in monetary terms, but in job creation, poverty reduction, and empowerment of our people,” the Governor said.

The Governor said that the programme aligns with his administration’s vision of building a productive, self-reliant and innovation-driven economy, revealing that after going back and forth on the issue, government was now convinced that it would help to support the youths.

He explained that his administration deliberately chose to invest in productive ventures capable of generating long-term economic value, instead of funding mere consumption.

“The easiest way to spend money is to give it to people who consume it, but we will receive value when it is invested, and that investment will yield returns. This is our own way of intervening,” Gov. Otti said.

He further disclosed that the grant project forms part of a broader economic empowerment initiatives of his administration targeted at equipping Abians with relevant skills and support to become self-reliant and employers of labour.

Presenting the project earlier, the Director-General, Abia State Technological Skills Acquisition Centre (ATSAC), Mr Peter Ukonu, described the programme as a strategic intervention aimed at supporting businesses, reduce poverty and create employment opportunities across the State.

Ukonu explained that technology resources, not cash, would be given to beneficiaries expected to utilize them for business expansion.

“We are not giving cash to businesses directly. We are actually doing so through technology service providers,” he said.

The programme, he stressed, brings together business technology service providers and mentors to drive digital tools, automation and AI, adding that the goal is to help Abia businesses move from survival to growth, improve productivity, create jobs and build a new generation of technology-enabling businesses.

Mr. Ukonu, who revealed that technology companies, software firms, hardware suppliers and internet providers would participate as service providers, while mentors, including those in the diaspora, would guide businesses in developing viable proposals and matching technological needs with solutions, explained that those eligible for the scheme are all Abia residents, who do business and pay taxes in Abia.