The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has announced that the Federal Government will provide credit facilities of up to ₦1 billion at a 9% interest rate to support businesses, including manufacturers. This initiative aims to address the challenge entrepreneurs face in accessing affordable funds for their ventures.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Edun revealed this plan during an interview on Channels Television’s “Sunday Politics.” He emphasized that the current administration is aware of the difficulties entrepreneurs encounter in securing affordable financing and is committed to providing solutions.
“Small-scale entrepreneurs can receive up to ₦1 million in credit facilities, while larger businesses can access up to ₦1 billion at a 9% interest rate, significantly lower than the current 26.25% interest rate recommended by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to commercial banks,” Edun explained.
The minister highlighted the government’s focus on increasing food production and addressing food nutrition and insecurity. “We are also supporting small-scale businesses through grants and funding nano enterprises. This is being implemented using world-class standards, ensuring beneficiaries are biometrically identified and payments are made digitally for easy reconciliation,” he added.
Edun stressed the importance of accelerating the rollout and scale of these initiatives to boost the economy. “Loans at 9% for medium-scale enterprises, up to ₦1 million for smaller enterprises, and up to ₦1 billion for larger enterprises will help manufacturing firms invest, grow the economy, employ more people, and increase production, which will ultimately help reduce inflation,” he stated.
Assuring Nigerians of a decrease in food prices in the coming months, Edun acknowledged that food insecurity is a global issue but highlighted the government’s efforts to dedicate special funding for infrastructure to enhance agricultural output.
“Although inflation is high at 33.65% and food inflation at 40.5% is concerning, it is coming down month-on-month. It is expected to decrease further as we progress through the dry season harvest and into the wet season harvest. The focus is on increasing agricultural output to lower prices, which will play a significant role in reducing inflation,” Edun concluded.
