The Smal Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have begun accessing the N5 billion low-interest rate loan secured from Sterling Bank.
The agency said some SMEs are finding it challenging to meet the bankâs criteria and is offering support to help overcome the hurdles.
The director-general of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, met Sterling Bankâs managing director, Abubakar Suleiman, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, to address the issues.
He disclosed on X that the bank blamed the challenges on issues with formalization and other factors affecting eligibility.
According to Odii, he met with the bankâs MD/CEO to discuss the SMEDAN-Sterling loan programme, offering N5 billion to small businesses at a single-digit interest rate to increase access to funding.
He said:
TheCable reports that the agency will contact successful applicants to monitor their progress and offer tailored support to ensure the opportunity to leverage the benefits of the loan.
The agency signed an agreement with Sterling Bank to provide small businesses with a nationwide N5 billion loan facility.
The development comes amid another report that the Nigerian government is planning an N10 million grant to 5,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) entrepreneurial members.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government has announced plans to empower at least 5,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members with N10 million each.Â
The empowerment programme funds the corps members’ entrepreneurial ventures after completing the NYSC scheme.Â
The minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Ibrahim, made this known during the opening ceremony of the inaugural meeting of the NYSC management with heads of Corps Producing Institutions (CPI) in Nigeria, held on Monday in Abuja.Â
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian government will soon begin the loan disbursement procedure for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the N200 billion Presidential Intervention Fund initiative.
President Bola Tinubu launched the initiative on October 17, 2023, to ease the removal of the petrol subsidy and other economic effects on Nigerians.
The minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, said on Monday, April 22, 2024, that the decision was taken following the success of the ongoing disbursements targeted at supporting one million nano-businesses nationwide.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at TimesNow.com.ng
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
