A fast-growing financial services provider, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, has launched interest-free credit facilities in Ogun state where 40 business women will be empowered with interest-free loans on quarterly basis as part of effort to boost economic activities, especially among the operators of micro, small and medium-size enterprises in the state and Southwest.
BusinessDay reports that FCMB stretches its credit coverage and credit bouquets to Ogun state by partnering the Office of the First Lady with a view to empowering and improving business women’s knowledge, capacity, skills and prerequisites that could help businesses grow, having reached out to over 2,000 women businesses in the last one year, across the states of the country.
Speaking at a bilateral mentorship program tagged, “She Ventures”, organised by Ogun state government and FCMB in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun state on Wednesday, Bukola Smith, executive director, Business Development, FCMB, said that the training program which has the theme: “Supporting Women Businesses to Scale Up in 2020”, is one of the several empowerment programs devised by FCMB to boost MSME activities and stimulate the economy.
Smith, who highlighted some benefits of “She Ventures” which include zero percent -interest business loans for the 40 business women at every three months in addition to regular crediting; training and mentorship programs; networking opportunities; three months free banking, among others, noted that the soft loans are a game-changer initiative established to empower women folks.
Also speaking at the event, Sola Arobieke, Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Commerce and Industry, explained that State government would involve in the selection process as part of measures to ensure that the loans are used for what are meant for and not diverted, saying that the 40 women beneficiaries would not only have interest-free loans, but also collateral- free.
Arobieke added that another credit scheme would also be deployed to accommodate other business women working within the MSMEs across the state, saying: “although 150 business women were trained and mentored for first phase of “She Ventures”, it must be clarified that other people will also benefit from FCMB credit facilities in addition to the 40 beneficiaries that will be picked for interest-free and collateral-free loans on a quarterly basis.”
But, Bamidele Abiodun, First Lady and Wife of Ogun state Governor Dapo Abiodun, said the capacity building programme for Ogun state women in business saw 150 entrepreneurs with registered businesses that are operational in the state were nominated as participants for the capacity building which would afford them the opportunity of accessing a loan of between N1million and N5 million.
She said, “I am happy in not only by the participation of my Office in this initiative, but also the opportunity to nominate 150 women entrepreneurs with businesses registered and operational in Ogun State as participants.”
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
