The Bank of Industry (BoI) has disbursed about N3.9 billion loan as financial support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and larger enterprises in Kebbi state.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BoI, Mr Olukayode Pitan disclosed this during a courtesy visit to see the Governor of the state, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Pitan also made known that over 22,000 people had benefited from the N1 billion matching grant fund released by the Kebbi State Government and managed by the bank. He disclosed BOI’s intention to partner with the Kebbi government in order to offer support to entrepreneurs towards the industrialisation of the state.
“We came to Kebbi State to chart the best course of partnership with the state government to offer support to entrepreneurs for them to set up industries and companies to grow the state’s economy.
“We commend Gov. Bagudu for providing N1 billion matching grant to the bank, and also solicit for further collaboration to move the state forward. Over 22, 000 people have benefited from the fund advanced by the state government to be managed by the bank.”
Why this matters: The role of SMEs in enhancing economic growth and development has, over time, been widely acknowledged globally. Most entrepreneurs often complain of financing being the major challenge hampering the expansion of their output. This is why this disbursement of funds for SMEs is important as it creates value and in turn enhances the gross domestic product.
More details: While breaking down the bank’s investments over time, the MD and CEO of BOI noted that the bank had recently approved the sum of N1.5 billion for two industries in the state, adding that Zango Kangiwa rice project and Mtech Universal Engineering which specialise in weaving sacks were expected to benefit from the loan.
“The bank opened its office in the state in 2017 and since then it has made a lot of impacts. The bank has invested N3.9 billion in the state with N2.8 billion for SMEs while N1.21 billion for large enterprises. Recently, the bank had also approved N1.5 billion for two industries in the state.”
Source: Nairametrics
