SMEDAN, Jaiz Bank expand financial access to 6,122 entrepreneurs
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has launched the GROW Fund scheme to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with access to affordable financing for
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has launched the GROW Fund scheme to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with access to affordable financing for their businesses, while appointing Jaiz Bank Plc to manage the financing scheme.
The target is to expand access to affordable financing for 6,122 entrepreneurs who have completed the training and entrepreneurship development programme under the inspire, create, start and scale (ICSS) initiative
The Director-General, SMEDAN disclosed this at the official unveiling of the GROW Fund scheme for ICSS trainees in Abuja, stating that other partners in the scheme include the German Cooperation through GIZ, Kaduna Business School, GOPA and worldwide consultants.
He said: “This initiative signals a significant shift from routine training to a more structured support framework that directly links capacity building to single-digit interest loans and asset financing. Everywhere you go, you see small businesses. Many of them have received training through several capacity development initiatives.
READ ALSO; National Assembly seeks ₦1.5trn take-off fund for creative economy, tourism ministry
“To ensure that training meets capital, SMEDAN took the ICSS scheme to find solutions to the complaint by the banks that they have money, but our trainees have not been equipped enough to unlock the funds. 7SMEDAN has set up a standardized training for small businesses, and when they’re done, they can now unlock financing.
“We know that financing in this part of the country is very expensive and very scarce. So, SMEDAN is making available affordable financing at single-digit for small businesses to enable them to grow.”
Speaking, the representative of the Embassy of Germany in Abuja who is also the First Secretary and Head of Cooperation, Dr Karin Jansen, commended SMEDAN for providing leadership to other partners in the development and implementation of the ICSS programme across Lagos, Edo, Ogun, Niger, Plateau states as well as the Federal Capitàl Territory, Abuja.
Jansen said the scheme was designed as a modular entrepreneurship pathway to meet the needs of small businesses at different stages of their development, from inspiration and business creation to sustainable growth and scaling.
The Chief Executive Officer of Jaiz Bank Plc, Dr Haruna Musa, who was represented by the General Manager Idris Ahmed Musa described the scheme as a catalyst for innovation, job creation and sustainable economic development, adding that the funds represents more than a financial intervention, as it symbolizes a renewed commitment by the Bank and other stakeholders to empower entrepreneurs and promote inclusive growth.
He said: “At Jaiz Bank, we firmly believe that sustainable economic growth must be inclusive. Empowering small businesses remains central to our non-interest banking model. MSMEs play a critical role in job creation, grassroots economic transformation and innovation, the GROW Fund scheme would provide entrepreneurs with the resources required to unlock their potential and build resilient enterprises capable of contributing meaningfully to national development.”
