CBN Urges S’East Women To Form Cooperative Societies

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Copen Group, Rev. Ugo Chime, Managing Director of the Group, Mrs Chinelo Chime, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, and President, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Dr Ifeanyi Okoye, at the commissioning of Elim Plaza in Enugu on Wednesday

The Central Bank of Ni
geria (CBN) has urged South-East women to form business and agro-allied co-operative societies to easily access its N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans.
CBN’s Assistant Director, Development Finance Department, Dr Ibeawuchi Amagwu, made the appeal in Enugu on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen.
Amagwu was speaking on how the zone would increase its entrepreneurship capacity and improve citizens’ conditions of living.
He said the CBN had earmarked 60 per cent of its single-digit interest MSME loan for women, especially rural dwellers that formed formidable and workable enterprise ideas.
According to him, research works have proved that women in the zone were enterprising and committed to help in raising economic conditions of their various families.
“We are urging our mothers and sisters within this zone to come together and form co-operative societies to easily access the MSME loan with the apex bank.
“We know that women in the zone are hard working, resourceful and faithful in repayment of loans.
“And coming through co-operative societies, especially in businesses such as agro-allied and agriculture value-chain products, would be of great interest to the CBN. “
The assistant director advised state governments in the South-East to give priority to entrepreneurship education as well as fund small and cottage businesses.
Amagwu said South-East governors should stop lamenting dwindling financial resources but look inwards and find how to use the advantage of millions of people living in their states as catalyst to drive their economies.
“Governors need to embark on education on entrepreneurship, open up the state hidden treasures in terms of agriculture and extractive minerals for the people as well as provide soft loans.
“This would in turn pay-off after some years in increasing state’s Internally Generated Revenue through taxes and levies.
“The time to act on economic diversification through encouraging small businesses and cottage industries in the South-East is now.
“If no drastic measure is taken within the next two years, our economic condition within the zone would be unimaginable, “ he said.