Six MFBs Access N220bn MSMED Fund

Six microfinance banks
have accessed the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) as at the end of 2014.
An authoritative source in the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) gave the figure in an interview with The Tide source in Lagos on Monday.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, said that the six were among the 800 registered microfinance banks in the country.
He told reporters  that more than 200 microfinance banks had submitted applications for the fund and were waiting for approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the source, some of the banks which benefitted from fund are Accion Microfinance Bank, Bosak Microfinance Bank and Lift Above Poverty Microfinance Bank.
President Goodluck Jonathan launched the N220 billion MSMED Fund on Aug. 8, 2014, as part of his administration’s transformation agenda.
The fund is aimed at closing the financing gap of the sub-sector estimated at N9.6 trillion as at 2010.
The MSMED Fund is an intervention programme to tackle poverty by creating jobs and empowering Nigerians with the skills and finance to facilitate wealth creation.
The CBN had in November 2014 said it would review the guidelines for accessing the N220 billion MSMED Fund to ensure easy access.
According to the apex bank, five commercial banks had already signed Memorandum of Understanding with the CBN on the way forward.
The banks are United Bank for Africa (UBA), Skye, Guaranty Trust, Zenith and Fidelity banks.
The CBN gives out the loan at three per cent interest rate to commercial, micro finance and development banks which in turn lend to micro, small and medium scale enterprises at a maximum of nine per cent interest rate.