This news will surely excite small business owners in Lagos State as the state government has concluded plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (BOI) and Sterling Bank to enable them have access to funds to scale up their ventures.
It was learned that the deal would be signed on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the Adeyemi Bero Hall in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, as part of activities for the launch of a new initiative tagged Lagos State Access to Finance for SMEs through Co-operatives (LASMECO).
The Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment in Lagos, Ms Folashade Ambrose, described LASMECO as a first-of-its-kind public-private financing platform that aims to deliver low-interest, risk-mitigated loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across strategic sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, creative industries, manufacturing, and circular economy clusters.
She noted that the Access to Finance for SMEs initiative, which is to be launched by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the event, would be witnessed by key stakeholders in both public and private sectors, including the Managing Director of BoI, Mr Olasupo Olusi; his counterpart at Sterling Bank, Mr Abubakar Suleiman; the president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Francis Meshioye; and the president of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Gabriel Idahosa, among others.
The Commissioner stated that this initiative is a game changer that will accelerate access to finance for SME business owners in the state by providing a loan of up to N10 million at a 9 per cent interest rate for two to three years without a collateral, with 50 per cent guaranteed by Sterling Bank.