The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has approved provision of investment funding with business support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bayelsa and other Niger Delta states.
Shell approved the funding in a partnership agreement with a Bayelsa based resource development company, Zal and GroFin.
Kemela Okara, Bayelsa State Commissioner for Trade and Investment, was represented by Jonathan Lionel-Omo, one-time Commissioner for Environment and Chairman of the Yenagoa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (YECCIMA) in the signing ceremony in Yenagoa last week.
It was gathered that Aspire Funds as core investor and SPDC as anchor investor drove the partnership.
By the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), SMEs in Bayelsa and other Niger Delta states can access loans ranging from N2.0 million to N20 million for a repayment period of three to six years without any collateral.
It was reliably gathered that the primary objective of Aspire Funds, which is managed by GroFin, was to create significant socio-economic impact, improve lives of Niger Delta people and improve managerial capacity through business support.
AdvertisementAspire Funds also seeks to achieve business sustainability and growth while not looking for great financial returns in its bid to positively affect the fortunes of SMEs in the Niger Delta region.
Zigha Ayibakuro, Managing Director of Zal, and Friday Essienenbak, chief investment officer of GroFin, said the loans for the categories of SMEs have low interest rates to stimulate the regional economy for the needed growth.
Ayibakuro told entrepreneurs in Yenagoa that the essence of the MoU was to create and build competitive SMEs in the region and that “the partnership has bridged the gap for SMEs to have access to needed funding.”
Essienenkak explained that some key stakeholders in the region who believe that sustainable economic development could best be achieved through the development and growth of contributing small businesses made the SME support possible.
He disclosed that nearly N300 million had so far been invested in 28 micro and small businesses in the Niger Delta region, saying that the businesses have created and maintained about 200 jobs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment