The Nigerian government has secured $1bn syndicated loan to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, disclosed this at the Quantum Mechanics Limited MSMEs Survival Fund capacity building programme on Monday.
He said the loan was secured by the Bank of Industry under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry.
According to the minister in a statement by his media aide, Ifedayo Sayo, the loan would improve the capacity of the bank to effectively support MSMEs across key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Adebayo hinted that the loan facility was being implemented in conjunction with international partners on a long-term tenor.
“There is an ongoing discussion with Dunn and Bradstreet to establish an SMEs Ratings Agency of Nigeria to provide an empirical basis towards analysing the eligibility of SMEs to access credit,” he said.
He recalled that the Federal Government has in place the MSMEs Survival Fund Initiative, launched to protect small businesses from the shocks of the Coronavirus Disease, as part of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan.
The fund was estimated to save, at least, 1.3 million jobs across the country, while strengthening the growth potential of beneficiary businesses, Adebayo added.
