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Ogun partners BoI on N1bn SME endowment fund

By on November 7, 2013

The Ogun State Government said on Tuesday that it had entered a partnership with the Bank of Industry to provide N1bn for the Small and Medium Enterprises sector of the state.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun stated this during the celebration of the Ogun State Day at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair.

Amosun, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Segun Adesegun, said the loan window was aimed at providing funds to address internal issues in trade promotion within the state.

“We are using this as a forum to stabilise the trade of our people, especially those in small businesses, who may not have easy access to bank loans. What we do is to serve as the bridge between them and the financial institutions so that they can have access to funds,” he said.

The governor said the task of promoting trade in the state was the responsibility of the government and the organised private sector.

He added that based on the understanding of the economic importance of trade, the state was also working on providing tax incentives to investors, depending on their business and location in the state.

According to him, the state is also working on increasing agricultural production as a key sector for economic development.

The state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Bimbola Ashiru, said the state, in collaboration with the private sector, was building a profitable value chain in important sectors of the economy, especially agriculture.

“Agriculture remains the most viable option to get out of the economic rot that petro-dollar has brought upon this nation; it is the only area where we wield the greatest comparative advantage,” he said.

Ashiru said investment in agriculture and agro-allied products was often despised by investors, but it remained a rewarding venture that was capable of fetching good foreign exchange in the international market.

The commissioner said the state government was working on mobilising available resources towards creating the enabling environment that would stimulate growth and development in the area of infrastructure, security, health care delivery and urban renewal.

“We are on the lookout for enduring partnerships with well-intentioned investors in our quest for economic transformation of the state. The wheel of positive economic change is slowly but assuredly turning,” he said.

 

 

[Punch]