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NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, NMFB, has commenced the disbursement of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, N50 billion COVID-19 facility to beneficiaries.
The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Abubakar Kure, who disclosed this at the official flag-off of the disbursement in Abuja, said 3,356 beneficiaries would receive facilities in the first batch.
Mr. Abubakar Kure, Managing Director, NIRSAL
He said: “The facility is available for service providers in the health sector, trading and all those businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The idea is to provide cash flow which has been disrupted by the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic.
The product is intended to provide liquidity for businesses. ‘’This initiative is to provide liquidity and allow the economy to normalise. Businesses are hurt. People are hurt. People are no longer staying in jobs.
“By the end of today, they should be able to receive alerts. The idea is to launch the product so that people will know that we have started disbursement. ‘’We hope that the money being disbursed will allow you to re-activate your businesses; allow you to stay in jobs and allow the economy to normalize.
“The way we want to create awareness about this product is this gathering. So that people legitimate businesses and households will be aware of the product and apply.”
Kure warned that the money was not a grant, and thus, it must, therefore, be paid back to the bank”. “Let me re-state that this is not a grant. Those who have been given the facility should payback so that other people will also enjoy the facility. ‘’It is a facility intended to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic that has affected people globally, especially SMEs. SMEs are the engine of growth of every economy.
“We encourage people from all over the country to apply. Once you qualify, you don’t need to know anybody to benefit from the facility. ‘’That is why we encourage people to apply through our portal. That is why our processes are online. It is available to those who meet the criteria. “Once you apply and you qualify, you will be invited to do your documentation. The documentation process will continue. This is just the first batch phase. We are starting with Abuja because of conveniences. “Other branches are also there.
We have about 53 branches. Given the level of risks, some of them are providing skeletal services, as the situation demands we are open to the public. ‘’Those that are closed, we will find a way of reaching the applicants to enable them to do their documentation so that we can disburse.” The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had in March, announced a N50 billion COVID-19 Intervention Fund as a Targeted Credit Facility, a stimulus package to support households and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
Recall that at a news conference last week in Abuja, said that Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), had received 80,000 applications out of which 40,000 of the applicants that applied for the facility were households.
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