By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has collaborated with the Bank Of Industry (BOI) to disburse N75 billion loan to micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) across the country at a 9 per cent interest rate.
The Special Assistant to the President on MSMEs and Job Creation in the Office of the Vice President, Mr Temitola Adekunle Johnson, confirmed this in a statement.
He disclosed that the single-digit interest rate was targeted mostly at women and youths, noting that it was part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to revive the economy.
He said the government has collaborated with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to provide massive support for MSMEs both in grants and loans in the past, citing the recent upward review of the Access Bank loan scheme for MSMEs from N30 billion to N50 billion.
“The upward review, according to the bank, is to increase the number of beneficiaries of the bank’s loan scheme and impact more livelihoods,” he said
The statement also revealed that the present administration was committed to providing massive support to small business owners both in grants and loans.
Recall that President Tinubu in late July unveiled some measures to cushion the hardship faced by Nigerians following the removal of fuel subsidies.
Some of the measures rolled out by the President include single-interest rate loans to manufacturers and farmers with an extended period as well as the acquisition of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to states, among others totalling N500 billion.
Other measures include N125 billion in loans to MSMEs as well as N50 billion in grants to 1 million nano businesses as well as N100 billion to purchase a fleet of 3,000 20-seater buses fuelled by CNG.
To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand, and create good-paying jobs, he said his administration would spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024.