BOI $1bn syndicate loan will improve capacity of MSMEs- FG
The Federal Government has revealed that the Bank of Industry (BoI) under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has concluded a $1billion syndicated term loan in conjunction with international partners to further support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
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Disclosing this in Abuja, on Monday, at the Quantum Mechanics Limited MSMEs survival Fund Capacity Building, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adebayo, said the loan is aimed at “further improving the capacity of the bank to effectively support Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) – across key sectors of the Nigerian economy – with affordable loans of medium to long-term tenor, alongside moratorium benefits.”He noted that “there is an ongoing discussion with Dunn & Bradstreet to establish an SME risk rating agency – the SME Rating Agency of Nigeria (SMERAN), to provide an empirical basis towards analysing the eligibility of SMEs to access credit.
“I will like to reiterate that our Ministry fully supports MSMEs, as demonstrated by our MSME Survival Fund Initiative which was launched in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic by the Federal Government as part of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP); aimed at protecting MSME businesses from the shocks the Pandemic.”The Minister explained that the survival fund was estimated to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country while strengthening the growth potential of beneficiary businesses, stressing that the successful implementation of the scheme so far has contributed immensely to quickly pulling Nigeria out of the COVID-19-induced recession.
He said the National MSMEs Clinics also support the growth of small businesses across the country through the provision of critical infrastructure, with twenty-six of such clinics having impressive results.
According to a statement made available to newsmen by Ifedayo Sayo, Adebayo further disclosed that the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has launched the Export Expansion Facility (EEF) under the NESP, to support the resilience of new and existing MSMEs to respond to the shocks of the COVID-19 Pandemic to retain and create more jobs, especially youth and women businesses through the Youth Export Development Programme (YEDP) and Promoting Women Inclusiveness in Non-Oil Export.
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