Business
FG Approves N998.2m For SMEs
The Federal Government has approved the second set of industrial projects or funding under the NERFUND scheme.
The approval was given by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, at the setting up of a total of 415 micro enterprises worth N998.2 million.
This brings the total number of approvals since the resumption of operations in 2009 to 623 projects valued at a total investment cost of N1.2255 billion.
According to the managing director of NERFUND, Mallam Baba Maina Gimba, the current approval is capable of creating over 2,545 direct employment and 1,5270 indirect jobs.
Explaining the approval procedure, NERFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mallam Gimba, said loan applications, after appraisal were subjected to consideration by the interim management committee (IMC) after which they were presented to the Minister of Finance for final approval.
A statement by the NERFUND Head of Corporate Affairs, Dahiru Ali, said the NERRFUND Managing Director called on other eligible Nigerians to take advantage of the funds’ facilities that offer attractive single digit interest rate, suitable for industrial financing.
A breakdown of the approval shows the various groups that benefited to be direct applications, which represents individual MSMES, totaling 263 entrepreneurs, spread nationwide which got N651 million .
The National Board for Technological Incubation’s (NBTI’s) 44 projects were approved valued at N718 million, while ex-trainees of the Africa Diaspora partnership for Empowerment and Development Project, which returned from capacity building programme in Miami, Florida, United States received N38.9 million for 15 approved projects.
The Eastern Plastics and Allied Products manufacturers, a conglomeration of micro entrepreneurs from the Southeastern zone, got 17 projects approved valued at N52 million and another 16 projects for the association.
For the Leather and Allied Industrialists of Nigeria, Aba Branch, Aba and the South Tailors and Fsshion Designers, in Aba, 10 projects worth N20 million were approved.
Another category of beneficiaries was the multipurpose co-operative societies, drawn from across the country and which received approval for 25 projects valued at N57.5million.
Two groups located in Kano, the Leather, Hide and Skin Association, got nine projects valued at N27 million okayed, the Skin Dyers Coop Society, while Kano Branch got the nod for 16 projects valued at N32 million.
Under the NERFUND scheme, eligible MSMEs can apply directly, either as individuals or co-operatives or through any of the partner institutions with which the fund had signed an MoU.
Such institutions are Nigerian Directorate of Employment (NDE), SMEDAN, NBTI, Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDCs) in Kano, Lagos and Onitsha and the Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA).
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