Bank of Industry Disburses N1.48bn to 29,000 Small Businesses in Imo

The Managing Director of the bank, Mr Olasupo Olusi, said this at a town hall meeting on the federal government’s loan scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Owerri.

Mr Olusi, represented by the bank’s Divisional Head for MSME in the South, said that the loan scheme was intended to address challenges facing businesses in the state, such as access to finance and cost of doing business.

He said that business owners could access up to N5million each at an interest rate of 9 per cent per annum with a three months moratorium and a tenure of up to three years.

He added that the disbursed funds were part of FG’s N200 billion Special Intervention Fund in line with President Bola Tinubu’s prosperity agenda.

He, therefore, urged business owners to take advantage of the opportunity to grow their businesses.

He also urged stakeholders such as the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) to mobilise their members to be able to access the loan.

“Application is open to the public and the Bank of Industry facilitates the verification of applicants’ data to facilitate disbursement.

“ We, therefore, call on all stakeholders – MSME owners, community leaders, youth groups, women associations, and Local Government authorities to be active advocates of the scheme.

“ It is our shared prosperity and we need to empower our young people to be architects of their own future,,” Mr Olusi said.

Also, the Secretary of NASME in Imo, Mr Ugochukwu Ohaegbu, called on owners of registered businesses to identify with the association for optimal benefits.