The Bank of Industry (BoI) in partnership with Diamond Bank, have provided soft loans worth N140 billion ($447.8million) to micro-entrepreneurs under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

According to the Acting Managing Director of BoI, Waheed Olagunju, the GEEP is one of the Federal Government’s social intervention programmes executed by the bank to promote financial inclusion and access to credit for 1.6 million micro-entrepreneurs. This will be done through GEEP’s microcredit loan, which is between N10, 000 and N100, 000 and repayable in six months without interest rate, except for administrative fee.

“That means, if you take N20, 000 loan you will repay N21, 000 at the end of six months. The beauty is that it is a weekly repayment, so it is easy for the beneficiary,” he said.

Commenting on the development, the Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie (photo), said the collaboration would bring about job creation, business growth and also stimulate government’s cashless policy system. “We are not just providing finance but using ICT to formalize the vibrant and informal sector of the economy,” Dozie explained.

Anita Fatunji