Lagos State government through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) on Tuesday said it has commenced mentorship programme to train beneficiaries of the N25 billion Employment Trust Fund (ETF) on financial literacy and business management to help their businesses grow.
Executive Secretary of LSETF, Mr Akintunde Oyebode, disclosed this while speaking at the Grassroots Engagement and Education programme on the loan scheme, while took place at Agege area of the area.
According to Oyebode, the mentorship programme was designed to assist the ETF beneficiaries to manage their resources with the view to expand their businesses and meet the goal of the state government to create at least one million direct and indirect jobs by 2019.
He said aside the financial literacy and business management training, the LSETF had also arranged experts known as Business Development Support Partners who, for certain types of loans, would continue on an ongoing basis to mentor, guide and help beneficiaries to formalize and grow their businesses, all in a bid to meet the overall objectives of the Fund.
Oyebode restated that the ETF was an initiative of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration designed to give loans to entrepreneurs, artisans and traders to grow their businesses at five per cent yearly interest rate, which, according to him, is the lowest in the country.
Oyebode also told participants at the stakeholders’ engagement session that the advocacy was designed to educate the people on what the ETF was all about and how to be part of it, adding that the session would take place in all the 20 Local Government Areas across the state.
“We have three loan programmes. There is one for our young people who are just starting their businesses after learning a trade. We are offering up to N250,000 in low interest loan and the rate would be five per cent per annum for a period of one year and because they are just starting, they have a moratorium of three months.
“We have another programme that we call Micro Enterprises and it is for those who are already running their businesses. For that programme, we are offering up to N500,000 at five per cent interest rate per annum. The third programme is called the Small and Medium Enterprise Loan Scheme for which we give up to N5 million for three years at five per cent per annum.
“We have designed these programmes such that whoever you are and at whatever stage of business you are, there is a programme to support you. Of course, we have other programmes and for example, we have an Employability Programme that we are still designing that will help train people and put them into jobs.
“We also have programmes to intervene and support the technology start-ups eco-system especially for those in the Yaba corridor.
“The governor has given us an express directive that the ETF should be at the frontline working with the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment to improve the entire start-ups eco-system, while we are also partnering with a lot of institutions both public and private to ensure the success of the scheme,” Oyebode said.
Chairman of Ibile Microfinance Bank, Hon Kolawole Taiwo, who is also former deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, said Governor Ambode deserved to be commended for the ETF initiative designed to alleviate the sufferings of people.
He said Ibile Microfinance Bank, which is the bank that would be in charge of disbursing the ETF loan scheme, was also set up to encourage people to imbibe the culture of saving, adding that it would also go a long way in helping beneficiaries to repay the loan without much stress.
Sole Administrator of Agege Local Government, Hon Gbenga Abiola, while speaking at the occasion, commended Governor Ambode for the initiative and urged residents to take advantage of the opportunity created by the loan scheme to expand their businesses.
“I would advise that when our people here in Agege get the loan, they should ensure they use the loan for their businesses and not divert it to marry another wife or for enjoyment but should use it to solely finance their businesses and work out the modality of repaying the loan to enable others to benefit,” Abiola said.
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