LASG Partners BOI On SMEs Funding

The Lagos State Government said it had concluded arrangements with the Bank of Industry (BOI) to provide funds to develop small and medium-scale enterprises.

The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs Olusola Oworu, disclosed this at a meeting with the management of the bank in Lagos.

She said that the funding became necessary to address one of the major factors militating against the growth of small and medium enterprises in the state.

The commissioner said that the state government was keen on the development of these enterprises.

Oworu said that the state government would try to solve the problems of funding and infrastructure in the various SMEs zones and industrial estates in the state.

She appealed to Mrs Evelyn Oputu, the bank’s Managing Director, to shift focus from the provision of plant and equipment to infrastructure development.

The commissioner said that the state government’s partnership with the bank would boost SMEs and create favourable business environment.

Oputu commended the state government’s foresight in promoting the SMEs, assuring the commissioner that the bank would support the state government in empowering women and infrastructure development.

“The bank is ready to work with the state government to identify and solve most of the challenges militating against the growth of SMEs in the state,” Oputu said.