Six funds available to entrepreneurs in Nigeria

BoI Funds

You can get cheap or singledigit funds (often at nine per cent lending rate) from the Bank of Industry (BoI).

The BoI has a number of funds that entrepreneurs of all levels can access. First is the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF), which is meant for serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Candidates are allowed to submit their business ideas, which are then reviewed by a team of experts. The NYSC members whose ideas are marketable and bankable are then selected, trained for four weeks and then given between N500, 000 and N2 million.

Recently, the bank said eligible corps members could access loans interest-free.

Also, there is the Cottage Agro Processing (CAP) Fund for small and medium agro processors.

GEEP

The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is one of the social intervention programmes of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), executed by the Bank of Industry. Through GEEP’S MarketMoni product, the FGN is promoting financial inclusion and access to credit for 1.6 million market traders, artisans, cooperatives, youths and farmers. MarketMoni is a microcredit loan, easy to access up to 100,000.00 and repayable over six months.

For more information, go to any office of the Bank of Industry nationwide or visit www.boi.ng/marketreg, marketmoni@boi.ng, 07002255264

GN special fund for MSMEs Intervention

The fund is a Federal Government initiative to provide subsidised loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at single digit (9 per cent per annum) all- inclusive interest rate. The fund is also to cater for applications received from SMEDAN under the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) scheme.

For more information log onto www.boi.ng

Tony Elumelu fund

Tony Elumelu Foundation has $100 million for 10,000 African entrepreneurs. This will continue to be available for another seven to eight years. If you are in agriculture, fashion and design, light manufacturing, ICT, and solid minerals, among others, then apply for the Tony Elumelu Fund. You can be lucky to be one of 1,000 entrepreneurs to be shortlisted.

To apply for this fund, submit applications online through the application platform of the TEF Hub.

Social intervention fund of FG

A total of N6 billion was allocated under the Social Intervention Fund of the 2017 budget. The criteria for accessing the fund include membership of a business organisation. The fund is for artisans and owners of micro businesses. The artisans or business owners can only access a maximum of N100, 000 at three per cent interest rate on a year tenure.

GroFin Fund

GroFin, a development financier, committed over $500 million to funding Nigerian MSMEs across the country.

The firm has five different types of fund: the Aspire Nigeria Fund, the Growth Africa Fund, the Small Growing Business Fund, the Aspire Small Business Fund and the Aspire Growth Fund.

The Aspire Small Business Fund provides a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $1.5 million to SMEs in Nigeria.