Bank of Industry (BoI) is collaborating with the Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) to provide soft loans to 100,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
BoI is the official executor of MarketMoni, one of Federal Government’s social intervention programmes, while RUFIN is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).
The partnership is part of Federal Government’s activities to boost the Nigerian economy and deepen financial inclusion for the economically active rural poor.
The partnership also signals the commencement of events by BoI to reach 100,000 new beneficiaries of MarketMoni through RUFIN across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones within the second quarter of 2017. This is so because accredited individuals will have direct access to quick, easy and interest-free loans of between N10,000 to N100,000 for up to six months at no other costs except a one-time 5 percent administrative fee.
BoI says it hopes to leverage the success of RUFIN’s financial empowerment efforts across 12 states in Nigeria in order to reach its target GEEP market.
“Already, the first phase of the loan disbursements is ongoing across Katsina, Nassarawa, Zamfara, Edo, Oyo and Lagos states, driven by RUFIN-mentored microfinance banks (MFBs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs).
“The participating MFBs and MFIs include BOWEN MFB Limited, Evbovbiorhon Community Farmers Savings and Loans Cooperatives Limited (ECF), Rural People Development Initiative (RUPEDIN), Self–Reliance Economic Advancement Programme (SEAP) and Development Exchange Centre (DEC),” a statement from the bank reads in part.
Speaking on the partnership, Waheed Olagunju, acting managing director, BoI, explains that the partnership aligns with the bank’s objective of expanding access to credit for people running micro enterprises below the bottom of pyramid, majority of which are women.
“BoI’s partnership with RUFIN is geared towards stimulating this process by reaching beneficiaries in rural areas across the federation and including them in Nigeria’s financial landscape,” he adds.
On his part, Olumuyiwa Azeez, national programme coordinator of RUFIN, says the institution is proud that its track record has earned it an opportunity to be a channel for reaching out to thousands of micro entrepreneurs who do not have an opportunity of accessing funds to boost their businesses.
“This is in line with the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh’s aspiration tonnget life back to the rural people,” Azeez says. The MarketMoni programme targets 1.6 million beneficiaries within a year.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
