BOI Urges MSMEs to Embrace Presidential Loans Scheme
The Bank of Industry (BOI) has urged Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) owners in Akwa Ibom, to take advantage of the presidential grants and loans scheme to improve their businesses.
Mr Tolu Toluwase, the Manager, BOI, Akwa Ibom, made the call at a sensitisation programme on the Federal Government grant a d loans scheme in Uyo on Tuesday. Toluwase said that the Federal Government had budgeted about N75 billion to be accessed through loans by MSMEs owners across the country. The manager said that the sum of N1 million would be given as a loan to successful applicants to boost their businesses.
“The repayment plan shall span for three years, and it shall be made on monthly basis. We are targeting 75,000 MSMEs, 75,000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs,” he said. He said that applicants must present a guarantor who must not be below Grade Level 10 in the Federal Civil Service.
“Since it is a loan, there must be some documentations, and anyone who wants to access the facility must have a running business.
“The business must be registered with the Cooperate Affairs Commission; the interest rate is actually single digit,” he said. In his remarks, Mr John James, the Commissioner for Trade and Investment in Akwa Ibom, described the scheme as a good source of financial support to MSMEs owners.
He urged MSMEs owners in the state to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the loan scheme to inject more money into their businesses. “MSMEs are the backbone of every economy; MSMEs employ about 80 percent of the population and contribute about 40 percent to Nigeria’s GDP.
“So when you access this fund, be sure to use it for the purpose it was granted. Use it to improve your business,” he said. Speaking to NAN, Mr Anietie Udoh, a poultry farmer, thanked the Federal Government for the gesture and described it as a good way of empowering MSMEs owners. ECOWAS, ECOBANK Unveil Empowerment Programme for Women Traders
