 has set aside N2 billion to support young entrepreneurs with loans to finance their businesses.){kind=link}
BoI Earmarks N2bn for Young Entrepreneurs
The Bank of Industry (BoI) has set aside N2 billion to support young entrepreneurs with loans to finance their businesses.
BOI Project Officer, Lawal Khaleel, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting on the Inclusive Economic Empowerment Project (IEE) funded by the British Council and implemented by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Kano.
Khaleel said the bank’s interest rate, which is between 10 and 13 per cent for micro and big loans, is accessible to Nigerians, including young entrepreneurs, provided they meet criteria such as registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
He noted that businesses in Kano are concerned about interest charged by financial institutions, adding that BOI has obtained a licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to commence non-interest banking to address the concerns.
“Our mandate is to industrialise the country but the major obstacle here in the North is lack of access to finance because of the interest issue,” he said.
He said the bank carries out due diligence before granting loans and advised CITAD to assist young entrepreneurs with business plans to access the facility.
CITAD Programme Officer, Haruna Adamu Hadejia, said the IEE project is tailored to address unemployment and underemployment among youths.
In a paper presentation, CITAD’s Isa Garba said between 42 and 55 per cent of Nigerian youths are unemployed or underemployed, with Kano recording 29.4% youth unemployment and 32.06% underemployment.
A Director at the Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA), Tijjani Sarki, said access to loans remains the major challenge for small-scale businesses.
Fifty successful applicants were selected for the IEE project.