Some traders at the Abubakar Gumi Central Market, Kaduna, have commended Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for the collateral-free loan tagged TraderMoni given by the Federal Government to boost their businesses.
Osinbajo was in Kaduna to launch the state’s edition of the scheme and went round the market to acknowledge the beneficiaries and encourage them to use the loan judiciously.
Osinbajo said when the traders repay the collateral-free loan of N10,000, they would qualify for higher sums of N15,000, N20,000, N50,000 and N100,000, adding that the loan was meant to empower them to expand their businesses and trade.
One the beneficiaries, Mrs Esther Onne, who was full of praise for the vice-president, said the money would go a long way to drive her food stuffs business.
She stated, “I really appreciate our vice-president for promoting this initiative. I have heard about the success of the scheme in other parts of the country but I thought it would be politicised; but to my surprise, it was a very fair process.
“I have received the money and I immediately invested it in my business.”
Jafar Abubakar, a trader in ginger and garlic admitted his initial scepticism about the TraderMoni but had a change of mind when he was registered.
He noted with delight that the process was very easy and did not require him to provide any documents or qualification.
He said the money would be used to expand his business, adding, “I will use the N10,000 to buy more ginger and garlic, which will help me sell more. I am grateful to the Federal Government and I will repay the loan.”
TraderMoni, which has been launched in different states in the country, aims to empower two million microbusinesses with a minimum of 30,000 loan beneficiaries for each state and the Federal Capital Territory before the end of 2018.
