The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has said the disbursement of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund is being done in phases.

A statement signed by the Director of Press on Monday explained that the ministry had received over three million applications for the initial N12.5bn made available.

It said at the current cap of N300,000 per beneficiary, only about 41,000 beneficiaries could be covered.

According to the ministry, it had limited the loans to the current amount so as to reach as many beneficiaries as possible.

The statement read in part, “The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has been following with interest the reaction of some beneficiaries of the NYIF, particularly those expressing disappointment at the N300,000 cap on disbursement under the first tranche of N12.5bn.

“Firstly, the framework specified N250,000 as the maximum for individual and eligible businesses that are critical can access up toN3m subject to meeting key criteria set in the guideline and conditions.

“Considering the number of applications received, there was need to ensure spread and enable more beneficiaries enjoy the facility.”

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The ministry assured beneficiaries that higher loan thresholds would be possible once additional funds were available.

According to the ministry, it is important to start and increase gradually, considering that there are lots of first-time borrowers as well.

The ministry reaffirmed that NYIF was not a grant, but a loan, targeted at supporting the youth to start small businesses or to inject funds into existing small businesses.