To further drive its support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the federal government has facilitated a $20 million technology fund for young innovators through Bank of Industry (BoI), while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is offering a N90 billion soft loan facility for small scale agriculture enterprises.
This came out of a meeting to review progress on the government’s efforts to support the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, presided over by the Vice President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Commenting on the development on his personal twitter handle, Osinbajo stated: “MSMEs though small in units, account for 50% of our GDP collectively. It is why President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to improving the MSME experience with increased access to finance, speedy product registration and certification.
“Today, at a review of the administration’s effort to support MSMEs, BoI approved a $20 million technology fund for young innovators. Similarly, CBN is offering a N90 billion soft loan facility for small scale agriculture enterprises.”
A statement by Laolu Akande, media aide to the Vice President, noted that all federal government agencies playing one role or the other in the MSMEs sector attended the meeting.
Recall that as one of the strategies for improving local manufacturing, the MSME Clinics were introduced by the federal government to bring together key frontline government agencies and stakeholders to interact together with a view to removing impending bottlenecks. The National MSMEs clinics driven by the office of the Vice President has now reached 26 States, with more Clinics to come in the series.