Sen. John Owan-Enoh, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, has described the N200 billion intervention fund for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as a financing pipeline for businesses.
Owan-Enoh stated this at a town hall meeting on the presidential grant and loan scheme for MSMES in Calabar on Wednesday.
The minister who described the scheme as a financing pipeline for businesses, stated that the fund had ‘democratised financing for overlooked businesses’
He said that the town hall meeting was to sensitise the business community in Calabar, Cross River to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the intervention fund.
“This gathering is not just to offer capital, it is to build confidence, ignite the spirit of enterprise and restore dignity in honest work,” he said.
Owan-Enoh said that medium and small scale enterprises were the engine room of economic growth in any nation
He expressed concerns that MSMES were challenged by non access to funds, high interest rates, institutional exclusions among others.
“The future of Nigeria does not lie in the oil sector alone, medium and small scale businesses have critical roles to play.
“This category of businesses hold the key to Nigeria’s economic and industrial prosperity. The current administration is determined to tap into the benefits of MSMEs,” he said.
On his part, Mr Temitola Johnson, the Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, said that the intervention fund was part of the president’s post subsidy removal palliatives.
He said that MSME operators could utilise the opportunity to raise up to N5 million to boost their businesses.
“MSME operators can take advantage of this window to get as much as N5 million naira with a nine per cent interest rate,” he said.
The Managing Director, Bank of Industries, Dr Olasupo Olusi, said that the scheme was an investment in Nigeria’s future, aimed at fostering inclusive growth and economic development.
Olusi said that MSMEs accounted for 96 per cent of businesses in Nigeria, 84 per cent of employment, and nearly half of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
The managing director stated that so far, the bank had disbursed over N107 billion to about 900,000 MSMEs across the six geopolitical zones.
Also speaking, Gov. Bassey Otu, commended the Federal Government for the initiative, and described it as a good omen to medium and small scale businesses.
Represented by the Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Mr Patrick Egbede, Otu said that 2,000, out of the 8,168 registered small scale businesses in the state had benefitted from the grant.
NAN
