The Rivers and Bayelsa councils of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have approved a working arrangement with Diamond Bank to secure a chunk of the N220billion set aside by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
The councils mandated their committee on SMEs and Manpower Development headed by Chief Nabil Saleh to work out the modalities with the bank and ensure that their members and other prospective members of the association in the two states are assisted to secure the loan facility which has been pegged at between N5million and N500million per applicant.
A statement issued at the end of the councils’ meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, signed by Prince Charles Beke and Dr Jossy Nkwocha, chairman of the branch and chairman, Publicity and Membership Committee respectively, said that poor access to funds has hindered many SME operations in the two states.
It said, “This window of opportunity is open to SMEs that are members of MAN in Rivers and Bayelsa states or SMEs that are prospective members of MAN because part of the regulations for accessing these loan facilities is that such applicants must be guaranteed by MAN or other members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS).”
It said the loan arrangement is a follow-up to the theme of the Branch’s 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM), which focused on developing SMEs to power the economic development of Rivers and Bayelsa states, adding, “We are working very hard to ensure that our members benefit from this all important bailout fund for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).”
