No fewer than 200,000 small-scale businesses have signified their interest in obtaining credit facilities worth N5bn from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria.
This follows an agreement signed by the agency in
partnership with Sterling Bank to disburse loan options ranging from N250,000
to N2,500,000 at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent, facilitating
the growth of small businesses through enhanced financial access.
Speaking at the ceremony, the SMEDAN DG, Charles Odii,
described it as “an important milestone in our efforts to stimulate economic
growth and drive prosperity by enhancing SME access to finance. We believe that
the financial support, which comes at a very competitive rate, will help SMEs
expand operations, hire additional employees, and contribute to an overall
upswing in beneficial trade and economic activities.”
The loan agreement with Sterling Bank has a duration period
of 24 months, and repayment will commence after a minimum period of three
months, enabling small businesses to leverage the facility fully.
But giving an update, the media aide to the SMEDAN Director
General, Peter Adeshina, told Saturday PUNCH that successful applicants had
been emailed by the bank adding that through this communication, additional
details on the short steps leading to disbursement in a matter of days will be
finalised.
He said, “We have received thousands of applications, about
200,000 businesses and counting submitted their requests. The response has been
massive. The bank has reached out to successful applicants via email too.”
The media aide further noted that disbursement is expected
to commence in a few days.
He added, “The bank has commenced assessment and applicants
will receive information on how to proceed. The process has been streamlined so
in a matter of days, we should commence disbursement.”
A copy of the mail sent to successful applicants obtained by
our correspondent read, “Thank you for expressing your interest in the
sterling-SMEDAN N5bn programme.
“Your application has been received and we are pleased to
inform you that you gave qualified to be among the first to receive updates on
the subsequent steps in the application process. In the meantime, we encourage
you to gain a deeper understanding of the N5bn loan program.”
While SMEDAN received thousands of loan applications in two
months and is about to commence disbursement, the Federal Government through
the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, had yet to finalise details of
a N275bn palliative loan promised to manufacturers and micro, small, and
medium-sized enterprises in the country, seven months after it was announced by
President Bola Tinubu, indicating a slow pace of project implementation.
Prospective beneficiaries in separate exclusive interviews
had complained that they were in the dark about the reasons the funds had yet
to be disbursed.
The President of the Association of Small Business Owners,
Femi Egbesola, decried the slow pace of data collation by the supervising
agencies, alleging that genuine businesses were being deliberately discouraged
from accessing the loans.
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