The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has approved the sum of N220 billion for disbursement to operators of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises(SMEs) in Nigeria.
CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who announced the loan at a meeting with state governors, said the fund will ensure wealth creation and poverty reduction in the country, adding that the loan will be disbursed at single digit interest rate to Nigerians and that 60 percent of the funds will be disbursed to women.
He said that SMEs suffer funding gap of N9.6 trillion.
We gathered that the governors at the meeting were not happy with modalities for disbursing the loan. The CBN governor said the money will be disbursed through commercial banks.
Those at the meeting include governors of Akwa Ibom, Ogun and Oyo states. They called for an upward review of the loan and removal of bureaucracy in accessing the loan.