200,000 businesses applied for SMEDAN loan, says official

No fewer than 200,000 small-scale businesses have signified their interest in obtaining credit facilities worth N5bn from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Saturday PUNCH reports.

This follows an agreement signed by the agency in partnership with Sterling Bank to disburse loan options ranging from N250,000 to N2,500,000 at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent, facilitating the growth of small businesses through enhanced financial access.

Speaking at the ceremony, the SMEDAN DG, Charles Odii, described it as “an important milestone in our efforts to stimulate economic growth and drive prosperity by enhancing SME access to finance. We believe that the financial support, which comes at a very competitive rate, will help SMEs expand operations, hire additional employees, and contribute to an overall upswing in beneficial trade and economic activities.”

The PUNCH reports that the loan agreement with Sterling Bank has a duration period of 24 months, and repayment will commence after a minimum period of three months, enabling small businesses to leverage the facility fully.

But giving an update, the media aide to the SMEDAN Director General, Peter Adeshina, told Saturday PUNCH that successful applicants had been emailed by the bank adding that through this communication, additional details on the short steps leading to disbursement in a matter of days will be finalised.

He said, “We have received thousands of applications, about 200,000 businesses and counting submitted their requests. The response has been massive. The bank has reached out to successful applicants via email too.”

The media aide further noted that disbursement is expected to commence in a few days.

He added, “The bank has commenced assessment and applicants will receive information on how to proceed. The process has been streamlined so in a matter of days, we should commence disbursement.”

A copy of the mail sent to successful applicants obtained by our correspondent read, “Thank you for expressing your interest in the sterling-SMEDAN N5bn programme.

“Your application has been received and we are pleased to inform you that you gave qualified to be among the first to receive updates on the subsequent steps in the application process. In the meantime, we encourage you to gain a deeper understanding of the N5bn loan program.”

While SMEDAN received thousands of loan applications in two months and is about to commence disbursement, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, had yet to finalise details of a N275bn palliative loan promised to manufacturers and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the country, seven months after it was announced by President Bola Tinubu, indicating a slow pace of project implementation.

Prospective beneficiaries in separate exclusive interviews had complained that they were in the dark about the reasons the funds had yet to be disbursed.

The President of the Association of Small Business Owners, Femi Egbesola, decried the slow pace of data collation by the supervising agencies, alleging that genuine businesses were being deliberately discouraged from accessing the loans.