NYSC free LOAN

NYSC free LOAN: What You Need know (NYSC-WAP Foundation)

In an attempt to break the country’s unemployment issue, the government has been looking for different means to use the NYSC project to help graduates secure jobs for themselves. One of these is the NYSC-WAP scheme.

WAP in full means “War Against Poverty.” This is a scheme that has existed in NYSC since 2009. War Against Poverty (WAP) is a scheme that gives corps members opportunities to access interest-free loans during the service year. It has been directed to mostly those interested in mainly agriculture. It has been sponsored and supported by the MDG fund to reach the Millennium Development Goal.

NYSC/MDG War against Poverty Program organizes skill training for a select group of corps members on selected agro enterprises. It empowers them financially depending on their business proposals to enable them to set up their own agro-business to address the goal of the MDGs.

It also accords corps members the opportunity to acquire some Agro-entrepreneurship skills and various forms of other entrepreneurial training to alleviate poverty. After the training, the loan given ranges between N150,000 to N300,000.

These interest-free loans are to be used on the corps members’ proposed business, which WAP officers monitor from time to time.

The scheme proposes to save the Nigerian populace and the teeming youths from venturing into the Job market from the pains and stress of unemployment. Previous participants in the program have emerged as beacons of hope. This had helped curtail the uncomfortable situation where ex-corps members roamed the streets searching for non-existent white-collar jobs.

This singular but definite measure shows that the NYSC management is committed to corps members’ post-service life. This reminds me of a popular adage that “it is better to teach a man how to fish than to just give him fish for a single meal.”

It has been a source of blessing to some but has not augured well with some ex-corp members.

How can you get access to this free loan?

How can you make a decision to benefit from the WAP foundation?

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Accessing the Loan

To gain access to the loan, you need to fill a form of intent either online or on hard copy. After successfully filling the form, if your name is shortlisted, you will get a letter of invitation from Abuja.

There would be a 10-day training program for corp members who are shortlisted. The training will educate them on various agri-businesses and how to succeed in them.

After the program, a lawyer would provide certain forms that will qualify one for the loans. Some of the important pre-requisites that the form demand includes

• Getting a guarantor who must be a level 12 civil servant if in the civil service or a professional in the private sector with a minimum of 10-15yrs in practice and a registered member of a professional body.
• This guarantor shall submit photocopies of their I.D cards for civil servants and membership certificates for those in the private sector.
• They must agree to be the recipients of legal actions or bear responsibility should the participant stand for defaults on payment of the loan, irrespective of the reasons.
• Our NYSC discharge certificates shall be withheld in their custody as collateral for the already guaranteed Loan until when the loan is repaid.

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COMPLAINS ABOUT THE WAP

The scheme has had its own challenges. Many claim it has not been free from the clutches of corruption that ingrained our system. They say that the money only gets to them in about 8 months or so.

What would a graduate be doing with a withdrawn NYSC certificate for eight months? The officials likely save this money in the bank to yield interest before giving out the loan to the deserving corp members. That would be the height of cruelty if someone really does that.

According to the agreement signed, some of the participants have been plagued by a failed business that made them debtors or forced to cough out a refund in 3 years. It can be said that every business ventured into would be successful. When you think of it, 10 days of training cannot turn you into an overnight success.

There is no proper monitoring of the program after the training such that some of the beneficiaries use the money for something else apart from agro-business. They may even manage the money wrongly, causing a failure in the business investment.

Advice/Suggestion

For those planning to gain this loan, you need to apply wisdom with respect to avoiding regrets and make advances that would be worthwhile. You can consider these questions before applying for the loan:

• Have I considered all the risks involved in taking this loan?
• Do I have confidence that the agriculture business I choose would yield in the area where I plan to start it?
• Have I considered the competition in the area I have planned to market it?
• Is it your first time? Would you require more help from experienced hands?
• Am I willing to risk my certificate in case everything fails for just N300,000?
• Am I willing to wait for about 8 months before getting the loan?

If you didn’t know about WAP now, I assume you have full knowledge of the scheme and also the challenges. If you have any challenges, you can always ask in the comment box provided below. Thank you for being in your No.1 NYSC blog www.awajis.com/nysc.

IMPORTANT: Consider these few things before and after acquiring a personal loan