BoI enlists 200 beneficiaries for FG’s N140bn micro-credit scheme

The Bank of Industry(BoI) has enlisted 200 beneficiaries under the Federal Government N140 billion Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme(GEED).

The 200 beneficiaries were enlisted in Kano under GEED; which is one of the five pillars of the federal government’s social investment intervention scheme aimed at empowering vulnerable groups in the country.

The Programme, being implemented by the BoI was designed to provide micro credit to artisans, farmers, market women and entrepreneurs engaging in productive enterprise.

Other programmes under the social investment intervention scheme include, the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, the Job Creation Programme N-Power, and the Student Busary Programme.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Senator Aisha Alhassan, who was spoke at a town hall meeting with the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibajo in Kano, explained that each beneficiary, which must belong to a registered association or cooperative, is  entitled to a loan between N10,000 and N100,000 repayable within six months.

At the town hall meeting the Vice President interacted  with traders, market men and women, artisans, food vendors and small business owners on the social intervention programmes of the Federal Government.

The minister said the BoI would disburse the loans directly to beneficiaries’ personal accounts with verifiable BVN.

On the modalities for repayment, she said: “Loans will be disbursed and repayment collected through local banks and money agents in order to reach remote areas where there are no banking facilities. Group leaders will be required to help mobilize their members for verification and repayment of the loans promptly.

“The loans are interest free and no collateral is required. There is only an administrative charge of five per cent which covers the banks’s expenses for administering the fund. Payback period is six months and there is a one-month grace period after getting the loan before repayment starts.

“A weekly recovery plan has been prepared to ease repayment for beneficiaries. For example, a loan of N10,000 will be repaid through a weekly repayment of approximately N440 while a N50,000 loan requires about N2,200 weekly repayment.

A member of Naibawa Fish and Poultry Farmers, Saudat Usman, who is one of  the beneficiaries said she would use the loan to expand her business by buying more day-old chicks and feeds. She said she would also invest part of the loan in acquiring a new land to rear her chicks.

While commending the Programme, she said the loan would increase her investment capital and enable her to expand her business; adding that paying  the loan back under the approved repayment model will not be a problem to her because she has a ready-made market for it.