Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Bayelsa State will soon complete accessing N2 billion MSMEs’ fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The state’s Commissioner for Trade, Industry & Tourism, Kemela Okara who disclosed this ahead of the 2015 Bayelsa Investment and Economic Forum holding between July 29 and 31, said the CBN has already disbursed N900 billion out of the fund to be channeled to the MSMEs that meet draw down guidelines.
He said CBN guidelines stipulate that 60 per cent of the borrowers will be women, 10 per cent start-up businesses adding that MSMEs’ Fund Committee has already been set up to achieve this objective.
“The next step is that the CBN disburses those funds to the beneficiaries. The money does not come to the state government at all. The state government provides some form of guarantee. We are sharing the risks. We are carrying 70 per cent of the risks while the Microfinance Institutions disbursing the funds carry the 30 per cent risk,” he said.
He said it is the microfinance institutions carry out due diligence on the borrowers to ensure they are conducting genuine businesses and that they will pay back.
“So, in terms of draw down, that is ongoing. We want to ensure that by the end of this month, 80 per cent of the borrowers draw down, so that we can access the remaining part of the money. If you want to go into business, you have to take that financial responsibility. The beauty is that the interest rate is just nine per cent which is a good rate”.
“Our strategy has been that, for us to create private jobs in Bayelsa State, we need to move away from dependent on receipt of the Federation Account allocation Committee (FAAC) funds allocation to having an economy where proper value-chain for opportunities abound,” he said.
“That is going to be achieved when you focus on industrialization. When you industrialise, you create secondary and tertiary levels where people could be hooked up in the value chain”.
