ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT AND BANK OF INDUSTRY, INVEST N10 BILLION TO SUPPORT SMEs IN THE STATE 06-05-25
By Sadiq Aminu Abia State Government says it is into a two phase N10 billion counterpart funding partnership with the Bank of Industry, BOI, to support Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs in the state.
Briefing newsmen on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting at the Government House Umuahia, the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu said the funding support would boost economic growth and reduce poverty across the state.
According to the Commissioner, the fund is meant to be accessed by SMEs across various sectors and the State government has paid up its counterpart funds of two billion naira and Bank of Industry would provide the outstanding three billion naira to sum up the five billion naira mapped out for the first phase for the SMEs project.
Prince Kanu who also announced significant strides in Women Empowerment, said that the present administration, through the Ministry of Women Affairs’ Livelihood Collective Project has completed sixty processing sites, comprising garri and oil palm processing facilities across the three senatorial zones of the State.
He outlined the distribution to include; twenty one sites in Isiala Ngwa North LGA, twenty in Obingwa LGA, and nineteen in Ohafia local government areas.
On infrastructure and digital transformation, the Commissioner said the state government had achieved great feats and it is expecting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be the guest of honour at the flag-off of the Abia Medical City project this month.
Contributing, Commissioner for Industry and SMEs, Mr. Mike Akpara, stressed that the SME funds would be strictly for genuine entrepreneurs.