Kano Government Injects N2billion into 37 Ailing Microfinance Banks

Kano State government has launched plans to inject N2billion into about 37 microfinance banks it inherited, as part of efforts to establish an enabling business environment for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to operate.

This was disclosed on Tuesday, February 16 by the state’s commissioner for finance Professor Kabir Isa Dandago during a workshop on financing SMEs using Islamic banking system.

The workshop was organised by Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) Jidda Saudi Arabia in collaboration with International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIBF) Bayero University Kano, held at centre for Nigerian Languages and folklore BUK new campus.

The commissioner stated that it was sad that financial, business as well as government institutions have neglected the SMEs sector of the economy.

He said the state government has convinced the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to lend the state N2billion to finance 44 microfinance banks in the state, adding that developed nations have effectively used SMEs as one of their economic strength bases adding that with the global economic crisis, Nigeria needs to also strengthen its SMEs as a step towards finding a lasting solution to the crisis.