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· The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the reopening of its portal for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and households affected by COVID-19 to enable their access to have loans up to US$70,000
· This is to help MSMEs and households in Nigeria overcome the adverse effects caused by the pandemic. The scheme will be operated through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, awing of CBN
· For accessing the fund, an applicant needs to be trained for five days by the Enterprise Development Institute (EDI) approved and recognized by the CBN.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the reopening of its portal for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and households affected by COVID-19 to enable their access to have loans up to US$70,000. This is to help MSMEs and households in Nigeria overcome the adverse effects caused by the pandemic. The scheme will be operated through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, awing of CBN.
Chairman, Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Abuja, Abiodun Ihebuzor said that each bank in Nigeria will give 5 percent of its profit for this purpose. As of October 2020, about 14, 600 people have been able to access the fund. That includes 250 SMEs. Household owners whose livelihood was affected by the virus infection and business owners whose business activities were affected by the pandemic are entitled to access the loan.
Some complained that the process is rather too long. The other view is that in terms of procedure it is simple but in practice, it could be difficult since for accessing the fund, an applicant needs to be trained for five days by the Enterprise Development Institute (EDI) approved and recognized by the CBN.
