The Presidency on Monday gave indications that it will soon commence the disbursement of N10,000 collateral free loans to petty traders in selected states of the country.
The disbursement, which is partly facilitated by the Bank of Industry (BoI), falls under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), one of the social investment programmes of the Buhari administration which N500 billion was ear-marked for in the 2017 budget.
Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, explained that at least two million beneficiaries are expected in the pilot scheme to take off soon in Lagos, Kano and Abia states before the year elapses.
He said no fewer than 4,000 enumeration agents have been deployed by the Bank of Industry to collect data of beneficiaries.
States with larger populations like Lagos and Kano are expected to get more than 30,000 loans. Across the country, especially in the pilot states, about 500,000 potential beneficiaries have so far been enumerated.
Laolu also noted that upon repayment of the loan, beneficiaries will be entitled to access higher facility ranging from N15,000 to N50,000.
He said the goal of the Buhari administration is to use the TraderMoni to take financial inclusion down to the grassroots, the bottom of the ladder, considering the contribution of petty traders to economic development.
“The Federal Government is also aware of the fact that many of the petty traders don’t have what the commercial banks require to grant them loans.
“This administration is keen to ensure that such traders at that level are able to build their businesses and grow,” he stated.
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