Access Bank boosts MSME loan scheme to N50bn, receives Govt praise

Access Bank Plc has received commendation from the Federal Government for increasing its loan scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) from N30 billion to N50 billion.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on MSMEs and Job Creation, Office of the Vice-President, Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson made this announcement in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

In November, Access Bank had initially announced the provision of N30 billion to support four million MSMEs, women, and youth businesses in Nigeria.

The Group Managing Director of the bank, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, had disclosed this during a meeting with Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa.

The decision to increase the loan scheme was made to benefit more individuals and have a greater impact on livelihoods.

The loans will be given to beneficiaries at a discounted rate of 15 percent. Any further adjustments to the loan scheme will be based on its performance after a year.

Vice-President Shettima expressed his appreciation for the bank’s gesture and praised the impact of its partnership with the Federal Government in the MSMEs sector.