HARRISON EDEH,ABUJA
The Bank of Industry(BoI) and Borno State Government on Monday set up a N2billion matching fund for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises in the state.
Acting Managing Director of BoI, Waheed Olagunju disclosed this in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State during the signing of the agreement with the State Governor, Kashim Shettima.
Under the terms of agreement, BoI is expected to provide 1billion which would be matched in equal sum by the state government.
The Bank’s CEO said in a statement on Monday that the matching fund scheme which is being implemented in partnership with state government, is aimed at empowering youths by creating job and inculcating entrepreneurship development.
He stressed the need by the state government to consolidate on the gains of restoration of peace in Borno State by engaging in activities that would engender sustainable economic activity, especially among the depraved youths and women in the state.
On the significance of the partnership, he said”It is in pursuit of the Bank’s policy on inclusive development and the desire to bring its products and services closer to the grass-root that necessitated the bank’s resolve to push for a partnership with the state government to as to sustain our continued effort to serve Borno State better and vastly improve on the turnaround time(TAT) for processing transactions.”
Olagunju also added that the fund would enable the state leverage on its abundance of rich agricultural and mineral resources.
According to him,”The agro-allied projects can be developed along the agrarian products such as sorghum, millet, maize, groundnut, tomatoes and water melon which are widely produced in the state.
The bank’s boss maintained that BoI relationship with the state predated the matching fund scheme, adding that the bank had invested over N407million in four small and medium enterprise projects as well as over 20 micro businesses across the state.
In his reaction, the governor of the state, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, thanked the bank for the initiative, stressing that it would further enhance the state’s ability to turn its raw materials to processed goods.
He urged the management of the bank to be dispassionate in the disbursement of the fund, maintaining that the state would shield the fund away from any form of political interference.
Besides, he told the bank to eschew any form of considerations, be it religious, political or ethnic, in the disbursement of the fund.
While assuring his people the determination of his administration to rev up economic activities in the state, he promised to scale up the fund to N4billion in due course.
