About 28 companies have secured credit facilities worth N23.20 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The firms, whose projects were selected for funding in the maiden batch of CBN’s newly introduced “100 for 100 Policy for Production and Productivity (PPP)” initiative, got the disbursed loans.
Disclosing this development during the flag-off ceremony of the PPP initiative, Governor Godwin Emefiele of the CBN, said the funds disbursed to beneficiaries of the 100 for 100 policy were loans, adding that they were considered following the due screening of the applications received.
According to the apex bank chief, the projects, valued at N23.20 billion, comprised 14 in the manufacturing sector, 12 in the agricultural sector, and two in the healthcare sector.
He said for this first cycle of the 100 for 100 policy, which ended on Monday, January 31, 2022, 243 applications valued at N321.06 billion, spread over key sectors, including agriculture, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and services sectors, were submitted on the portal.
Emefiele said after much engagement, 79 applications valued at N121.87 billion, were received from banks for projects in six sectors, namely agriculture, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, mining, and services sectors.
He said the requests were carefully screened and scrutinised against a set-out selection criteria, and were categorised into production efficiency and scalability; local content capacity; job creation and human capital development; operating sector relevance; and potential contribution to economic growth.
But only 28 companies with projects that clearly articulated their proposals were selected for funding, he said, adding that the CBN intended to revisit the applications that were declined with a view to understanding areas of their shortcomings and enabling more companies to benefit from the initiative meant to stimulate manufacturing output in the country.
Emefiele said, “With the significant opportunities in the real sector, there remained sufficient room for additional investments in the various sub-sectors and I would like to urge potential investors to take advantage of the various CBN intervention programmes and schemes, as well as other financing options out there, to invest in key sectors of our economy given the potential gains that could be generated from them.”
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