Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The sum of N49.2 billion has been disbursed to over 92,000 households and small business owners by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as loans to help ease the effect of COVID-19.
A few months ago, the apex bank announced the provision of a N50 billion credit facility for households and entrepreneurs in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Addressing members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) last month in Abuja, the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that the initiative has been successful, helping the beneficiaries to get back on their feet after the federal government restricted economic activities in the second quarter of the year to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, Mr Emefiele said, “The MPC specifically expressed optimism on the future impact of N50 billion household and SME facility, out of which N49.195 billion has been disbursed, to over 92,000 beneficiaries.”
Also, he said the N100 billion healthcare and N1.0 trillion manufacturing and agricultural interventions to support the rebound in growth from the impacts of the pandemic on the economy have been given to beneficiaries.
The Committee further commended the CBN
According to him, the CBN has “disbursed over N152.9 billion to the manufacturing sector to finance 61 manufacturing projects and another N93.6 billion to the healthcare sector, amongst many other sector-specific facilities.”
In his personal note at the meeting, the CBN Governor explained that these interventions to the manufacturing and agriculture sectors are mainly “to spur the rebound of the economy through high impact productive sectors.”
He stated that, “With the non-oil sector as the critical base of the economy, complete and accelerated diversification of the economy is imperative now, more than ever.”
