CBN says accounts of applicants for N50bn Covid-19 fund to be credited in 48hrs

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday said all successful household and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) applicants who have submitted their account details for the N50 billion Covid-19 targeted credit facility should expect their accounts to be credited in 48 hours of such submission.

The CBN stated this in its official twitter handle, saying otherwise the applicants should call 09010026900.

The CBN, on March 2020 set up the N50bn facility to be disbursed at single digits through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank for households and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that would be particularly hard hit by Covid-19, including hoteliers, airline service providers, health care merchants, among others.

Rogers Nwoke, president, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) said N50bn is damn too small for the huge funding gap in MSME working capital needs.

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He said Microfinance Banks (MFBs) disburse more than that in a month. “You cannot get the needed traction by letting only one new MFB with limited spread to do these disbursements,” Nwoke said.

He said the CBN should make available another N50bn through qualifying MFBs and the funds will reach MSMEs in less than one month.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.