Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr Kayode Pitan on Tuesday said that the bank, in its bid to develop small and medium enterprises has disbursed the total of N3.5bn to business men and women in Osun State.
Pintan disclosed this at the Osun State Business Summit held in Osogbo, the state capital.
He explained that the focus of the organisation was to make the assessment of loans more easier and faster for the purpose of enhancing and sustaining small businesses in the state and elsewhere.
The MD identified high interest rate as a bane of SMEs’ in Nigeria, saying the bank is assiduously working to give soft loans to business men and women at an affordable interest rate.
“We are doing every thing possible to reduce the adverse effect of high interest rate on small and medium enterprises by partnering with some micro-finance banks who could give loans at an affordable rates to our business men and women.
“I want to assure everyone that BOI is open for serious business”, he said.
Commissioner of Commerce, Investment and Cooperative in the state, Mr Ismael Alagbada, reiterated the commitment of the Rauf Aregbesola led administration to make the advancement of SMEs a priority.
“SMEs remain the cornerstone of industrial revolution anywhere in the world. That is why we make the development of the sector a great priority in our 6-points integral plans.
“Without small industries, there can not be big industries. It is small and medium enterprises that metamorphose to big ones, “Alagbada said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Osun chapter, Mr Femi Ayedun has clamoured for “timely perfection of land titles in order to access loans”, adding that Certificate of Occupancy is key to banks and finance houses.
He complained of difficulty in the process of perfection of land titles in the state, noting that “the process is extremely worrisome”.
Ayedun therefore called on the government in the state to make the process less cumbersome to make loan assessment more easier for their members.
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