The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, commended Access Bank for its commendable initiative in offering N30 billion in discounted loans to support 700,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The primary aim is to fuel job creation and foster the growth of enterprises.
Speaking at a meeting with MSME stakeholders, which included key figures from both the public and private sectors, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday, Shettima praised the Access Bank loan scheme, announcing its imminent commencement.
In a statement released on Saturday by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima was quoted as saying, “Every challenge, every problem is pregnant with opportunities for value addition and for repositioning of society. I just met with the management of Access Bank, we had extensive discussions, and they have offered to provide N30 billion support to MSMEs, focusing mostly on the youth and women as target beneficiaries. They are going to give these loans at a 15% interest rate.”
Earlier, Shettima had met with a delegation from Access Bank led by its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna.
Acknowledging the daunting challenges, Shettima emphasized that Nigeria possesses the talent to overcome them, stating, “In this room are the people that can bring about the changes we seek, be it in the agricultural value chain, the digital value chain, and the manufacturing value chain.”
He urged stakeholders to unite to overcome common challenges, noting that Nigeria is blessed with the human resources to address the projected global talent deficit. “With proper planning, zeal, commitment, and leadership, this country can be repositioned. We have the platform to re-engineer this nation. The caliber of people present here today has rekindled my hope in the Nigerian dream,” the Vice President noted.
Responding to stakeholders’ request for the inauguration of the National Council on MSMEs, Shettima directed the Special Adviser to the President on National Economic Council (NEC) to initiate the processes for the Council’s inauguration and sensitize State governors to its functions.
The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Charles Odii, expressed gratitude on behalf of stakeholders for the Vice President’s leadership and commitment to transforming the MSME space in Nigeria. He assured the Vice President that stakeholders were “ready, willing, and committed to aligning with the vision of the Tinubu administration in the sector.” Odii requested the Vice President to choose a suitable date to inaugurate the National Council on MSMEs as part of a comprehensive plan to garner robust support for the sector.
In separate remarks, the chief executives of the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), and the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) highlighted their organizations’ contributions to the growth of the MSME sector and affirmed their unwavering commitment and support toward realizing the Tinubu administration’s economic diversification objectives.
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