Niger govt partners BOI to access N700m for MSMEs

Niger State Government has partnered with Bank of Industry (BOI) to access about N700 million for supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the state.

Dr Jibrin Mustapha, Niger State Commissioner for Commerce and Investment, disclosed this during the budget screening before the Niger State House of Assembly Committee on Commerce and Investment in Minna on Tuesday.

He disclosed that part of the fund had been accessed while the remaining one would be accessed in 2022.

Mustapha said that the State Government was also engaging with Afrexim and Nexim Banks as well as international partners such as J. Marin to develop Zungeru Fertilizer.

He explained that the measure was to help reduce poverty among the people of the state as well as make them financially viable.

He further disclosed that over N770 million had been proposed for the ministry in the 2022 budget, adding that the ministry did not perform well in 2021 budget due to inadequate release of funds to boost investment.

Responding, Chairman of the Committee, Umaru Yabagi, directed the ministry to be reporting to the committee quarterly on its level of access to funds.

Speaker of the House, Abdullahi Bawa, lamented the poor performance of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) under the 2021 budget.

“I have noticed the non-performance of virtually all the MDAs in the 2021 budget, we must not allow such to repeat itself in 2022.

“We must go beyond normal oversight to ensure ministries access funds for capital projects in 2022 budget,” he said.