Business
Delta, Niger Win CBN 2010 Micro Financing Awards
Delta and Niger have won the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) 2010 Best State Supporting Micro Financing and Best Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Financing awards respectively.
The awards were presented to the states at the fifth Annual Micro-finance Conference and Entrepreneurship Award ceremony, organised by CBN in Abuja on Monday.
The wife of the Bauchi State Governor, Hajiya Hauwa Yuguda, won the Best Support First Lady for SMEs, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) received the Best Support Bank for Micro-finance on Agricultural Credit Scheme.
Lagos State also received the Best Support State on Micro Credit and Infrastructure Development.
Presenting the awards, CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said Delta had won the award for three years and urged other state governments to emulate it.
He said that Delta was committed to grassroots development through the establishment of Delta State Micro Credit programme since 2007.
Sanusi said that Niger created an agency in-charge of SMEs and Micro Finance to empower the less privileged in the society.
“The government has so far expended about N1.5 billion on micro credit, including interest free facilities, granted to 18 micro-finance co-operatives and interested promoters in the 18 local government councils as seed capital,” he said.
The CBN governor commended the award recipients for their contributions to the growth of the economy.
Responding, Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta commended CBN for the award and solicited its continued support.
He said that about 85,367 people, 7 993 cluster groups, comprising 53,104 women and 32, 263 men, were empowered in various micro enterprises.
“The programme has helped to promote the government three-point agenda across the state.