THE Bank of Industry has said that it will be disbursing three categories of funding totaling N200bn to support manufacturers and businesses across the country.
The development bank, in a statement, noted that funds included the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme, the FGN MSME Intervention Fund and the FGN Manufacturing Sector Fund.
The Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme is a N50bn grant scheme to support eligible nano business owners.
The grant will be disbursed to a minimum of 1,000 beneficiaries (especially women and youths) across the 774 local government areas and the six council areas in the Federal Capital Territory.
The statement read in part, “The target nano businesses include: traders, food vendors, ICT businesses, transporters, artisans, creatives, among others. This is the grant component of the initiative, as beneficiaries are not required to pay back.
“To be eligible, beneficiaries must own a nano business and be willing to register a business name as their business grows, and be willing to engage at least one additional staff member if the business turnover increases.
“They must also be willing to provide proof of residential/business address in their Local Government Area, and provide relevant personal and bank account information, including but not limited to Bank Verification Number and National Identification Number for verification of identity. The beneficiary must meet the application submission deadline for the scheme.”
The FGN MSME Intervention Fund is a N75bn fund for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria.
According to BoI, the fund will be used to support eligible micro, small and medium enterprises and serve as a cushion against the high cost of production, marketing and distribution of products arising mainly from infrastructure deficiencies and other ancillary factors involving MSMEs.
It stated that each beneficiary would receive a maximum of N1m, adding that the fund would be disbursed at an interest rate of nine per cent all-inclusive per annum, with a tenor of years for equipment and working capital.
The FGN Manufacturing Sector Fund is a N75bn fund that would be used to support eligible manufacturing companies and help cushion against the high and rising costs of production, marketing and distribution of products arising from infrastructural deficiencies and other ancillary factors affecting the manufacturing sector in Nigeria.
The bank remarked that beneficiaries would receive up to N1bn disbursed at an interest rate of nine per cent all-inclusive per annum, with a tenor of five years for term loans, and one year for working capital.
The disbursement of the funds follows a commitment by the Federal Government to cushion the effect that recent economic reforms have had on businesses in the country.
Following protests by organised labour demanding palliatives from the government, President Bola Tinubu, in a televised broadcast pledged that businesses across the country would be given loans and grants to help them cope with the austere business climate.
The Bank of Industry was appointed as the executing agency of the funds, vested with the responsibility for its day-to-day administration.