‘Beneficiaries won’t pay back’ — BOI to disburse N200bn to SMEs, manufacturers

The federal government says it has established three funds, totalling N200 billion, to support businesses and manufacturers across Nigeria.

According to a statement on Friday, the funds include the presidential conditional grant scheme, the federal government of Nigeria (FGN) micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) intervention fund, and the FGN manufacturing sector fund.

The BOI said it has been “appointed as the executing agency of the funds, vested with the responsibility for its day-to-day administration”.

The presidential conditional grant scheme, according to BOI, is a N50 billion grant scheme to support eligible nano business owners.

“The Grant will be disbursed to a minimum of 1,000 beneficiaries (especially Women and Youths) per Local Government Area (LGA) in the 774 LGAs across the Nation and the 6 (six) Council Areas in the FCT,” the statement reads.

“The target nano businesses include: Traders, Food Vendors, ICT businesses, Transporters, Artisans, Creatives, among others. This is the grant component of the initiative, as beneficiaries are not required to pay back.

“To be eligible, beneficiaries must own a nano business and be willing to register a business name as their business grows, and be willing to engage at least one additional staff member if the business turnover increases.

“They must also be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their Local Government Area, provide relevant personal and bank account information, including but not limited to Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) for verification of identity.”

According to the statement, the beneficiary must submit their application by the deadline.

The bank said the FGN MSME intervention fund is a N75 billion scheme for small businesses in the country.

“The fund would be used to support eligible micro, small and medium enterprises and serve as a cushion against the high cost of production, marketing and distribution of products arising mainly from infrastructure deficiencies and other ancillary factors involving MSMEs in Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“Each beneficiary would receive a maximum of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira). The fund would be disbursed at an interest rate of 9% all inclusive per annum, with a tenor of 3 years for equipment and working capital.”

The BOI also said the FGN manufacturing sector fund, worth N75 billion, would be used to support eligible Nigerian production firms to mitigate rising costs due to infrastructural deficiencies and other factors affecting the manufacturing sector.

“Beneficiaries would receive up to N1 billion, disbursed at an interest rate of 9% all inclusive per annum, with a tenor of 5 years for term loans, and 1 year for working capital,” the agency said.

Speaking on the new scheme, Olasupo Olusi, managing director of BOI, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to the development of MSMEs as the bedrock of the economy, which is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.