FG to share N75 billion loans to MSMEs from January

The Federal Government has announced its plans to boost the growth and development of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

As part of this initiative, the FG said it will be disbursing a total of N75 billion worth of loans to eligible businesses.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs.

According to the statement, the loans which will begin by January 2024 and will be under the supervision of the Office of the Vice President will be in collaboration with the Bank Of Industry, (BOI).

“The loans, totalling about N75 billion, will be given to small businesses across the country at an interest rate of 9 percent.

“The Federal Government and the Bank will leverage existing platforms to provide the loans to small businesses, targeting women and youths,” the statement partly read.

The FG said the initiative is intended to assist MSMEs in scaling up their operations, increasing their productivity, and contributing to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

It explained further that this move is part of the government’s efforts under the President Bola Tinubu Renewed Hope administration to support small and medium-scale enterprises in the country, which are considered to be key drivers of economic growth and development.

Recall that the Federal Government has since the coming to office of the Tinubu administration, collaborated with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to provide massive support for MSMEs both in grants and loans.

Recently, the management of Access Bank Plc approved an upward review of its 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.