As the Federal Government of Nigeria opens its portal for applications for the Presidential Grants and Loan Scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), prospective beneficiaries have been urged to apply in time as the applications shall be treated on first come first serve basis.
The Akwa Ibom State Manager of the Bank Of Industry (BOI) Tolulope Toluwase, who gave the charge in his remarks during the formal launch of the scheme on Tuesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, said the Federal Government had already earmarked a N75 billion loan to be accessed by the prospective beneficiaries across the states including the FCT.
Toluwase said any applicant who comes out successfully and met all the requirements shall be given a N1 million loan to boost their business operations, adding that repayment plan shall span for three years and shall be made on a monthly basis with an interest rate of a single digit.
He said the project targeted 75,000 MSMEs, 75000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs, stressing that applicants must present a guarantor not less than grade level 10 in the Federal Government civil service, BVN/NIN, four passport photographs, valid means of identification of himself and that of his guarantor.
He said, “We believe that N1 million per beneficiary when injected in a small and medium scale operation shall make a significant impact.
“Since it’s a loan there must be some documentations and anyone who wants to access must first of all be in business, must be a sole proprietorship and must be registered with Cooperate Affairs Commission, (CAC), the interest rate is actually a single digit.
“Therefore, go and apply quickly so that you can be shortlisted. When you don’t apply on time and other people apply they will take the money.
“The system will be watching the state that is applying more and when they reach that threshold, they will close that portal for them to allow other people to apply. They are going to treat the applications on first come basis.”
In his remarks, Commissioner for Trade and Investment in Akwa Ibom, John James, said the importance of MSMEs in every economy cannot be over emphasized, describing it as the backbone and highest employer of labour in Nigeria.
While thanking the Federal Government for the oncoming intervention to MSMEs, the commissioner advised the prospective beneficiaries to ensure they channel the money to the appropriate businesses and not divert it to other things.
N75bn MSMEs loan: BOI tasks prospective beneficiaries on timely application