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Kwara offers N150m to small and medium enterprise

By on September 25, 2015

As part of effort to consolidate the need to generate more employment opportunities and economic development of Kwara state, the state government has set aside another N150 million for interested small and medium scale entrepreneurs in the state.

The provision of this fund was aside the sum of N165 million offered   artisans in the state to stimulate business and economic environment of the state.

The new economic scheme tagged: “Kwara’s Next Entrepreneur” allows existing and new medium scale enterprises to bid for funds from the N150 million, which has been deposited with the Bank of Industry (BOI) to establish or expand existing businesses in the state.

Addressing journalists in Ilorin on the new scheme, the Technical Adviser to the Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed  on Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Mr. Olusegun Soewu said that, a crop of successful businessmen had been engaged as managers and captains to scrutinise business plans of interested individuals.

According to him, “the panel of Captains include, Mr. Kunle Oyinloye, Managing Director, Infrastructure Bank, The Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Esuwoye II, Successful businessman and agro entrepreneur, Mr. Shuaib Ottan, Accomplished Banker, Retired Vice Admiral Samuel Afolayan: Former Chief of Naval Staff and Successful Agro-Entrepreneur, Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Alli, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Engineer Lanre Sagaya, Accomplished Engineering Consultant.

Others are Mr. Waheed Olagunju, Executive Director, Bank of Industry, Chief Tajudeen Owoyemi, Chairman, Avalon Hotel, Offa, Mr. Gabriel Adewumi, Consummate Businessman and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications to Governor Ahmed, Dr. Muideen Akorede.

Soewu noted that successful applicants would benefit from between N3 million to N10 million to be repaid over a period of time, depending on the nature of the enterprise.

He explained that the captains who are technocrats in their various field of calling  would sieve through the applications to select and also monitor the expenditures to ensure that it achieve the purpose its meant to serve.

On the duration of the scheme, Soewu said the competition will be held twice a year to ensure that as many qualifying small businesses as possible will benefit from the scheme.

According to him, the, micro and small business owners will continue to receive micro credit funding under a different window as the government is determined to economically empower people and create jobs by promoting the informal sector.
He recalled that the N250million Micro-Credit Scheme launched by the Ahmed administration in 2012 has reached a cumulative of N1.2billion and benefitted about 50, 000 small business owners.

 

[ThisDay]