N4bn: Bank of Industry, Ebonyi partner on industrialisation, wealth
In a bid to reinvigorate the economy and enhance entrepreneurship, Bank of Industry (BoI) and Ebonyi State Government have pooled together N4billion to create job opportunities for the people of the state.
The initiative seeks to also enhance wealth creation. reduce poverty, crimes and anti-social behaviours that are mostly associated with joblessness in the state.
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, while signing the N4billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BoI at the government house in Abakaliki on Monday, said the fund will be equally deployed to the agro and industrial sectors.
The government said it also intended to set up at least one industry in each of its 150 communities with the fund.
Umahi commended BoI for supporting the state’s economic growth initiative with 50 per cent of the fund, stressing that the bank was indeed not out to make money, but to foster development.
He added that empowerment programmes have been proven to be more impacting when anchored with the bank, saying that the financial institution has competent personnel and an effective coordinating strategy.
He said: “Free money is not productive when it is not worked for; and the way to go about empowerment is what we have done today with the BoI, which has made tremendous impact in recent times. If this is enacted across the 36 states across the country, it will lead to job creation on a massive scale.”
The governor said that the initiative was Nigeria’s solution to the economic recession currently plaguing the country following the crash of global oil prices.
He said beneficiaries of short-term loans will be charged five per cent, while long-term beneficiaries will pay back with a 6.25 per cent.
Earlier in his remarks, Managing Director of BoI, Kayode Pitan, noted that the bank has been involved in supporting entrepreneurs in the growth of large and small scale industries in the state before now in excess of N2billion.
“With this, we will now be able to help more people to get employed as well as enhance the growth of the solid minerals sector as the governor has also requested,” he said.
He added that the development finance institution is ready to finance more projects beyond the scope of the MoU.
“We are partners with the state and are happy that this MoU has further strengthened that partnership,” he said.
Some of the projects financed by BoI include Ebony Agro Industries, Crystal Chemical Nigeria Limited, Hapelroadstone Nigeria Limited as well as Maxdove Foam and Chemical Industries Limited.
Governor Umahi charged his cabinet members to drive awareness of the intervention fund across their constituencies and encourage would-be beneficiaries to set up cooperative societies to enable them access the fund and attend entrepreneurship capacity building workshops to be hosted by BoI.
