Arrangements are in top gear by the Ekiti State Government to facilitate soft loans for Business owners as part of efforts to support entrepreneurship, boost economic development and improve the living standard of residents of the State.

The State Commissioner for Trade Investment Industries and Co-operatives, Mrs. Omotayo Adeola who made this known during a pre-launch sensitization meeting held at the Palace of Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, said that the target is to promote infrastructural development that would attract investors to drive Small and Medium Enterprises in the State.

Mrs. Adeola explained that the State government, in partnership with Access Bank, would soon launch a soft loan scheme to aid the growth of small and medium scale enterprises across the Local Government (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the State.

She said that the loans would be disbursed through business groups and Cooperative Societies with particular focus on women business owners, stressing that Executives members of each group would function as guarantors for their members to guard against nonpayment.

Advising business owners in the State to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the scheme to fund their trade, Adeola however cautioned against defaulting in repayment, emphasizing that failure to pay back in line with agreed terms would not only negatively affect defaulters’ credit but also reduce the chances of other business owners the benefit of accessing the loan scheme.

In his remarks, the Regional Manager of Access Bank plc, Mr. Tosin Olajide, explained that the loan regime would be a minimum of 50,000 and maximum of 250,000 naira for small scale Business owners while registered companies can access up to 2 million Naira loan; depending on their respective capacity.

Olajide who said that Small Business owners would be required to pay back within 3 months at 10% interest rate, clarified that the intervention of the state government reduced the interest rate from the conventional 30% to 10%.

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Speaking on behalf of the business owners, the Iyaloja General of Ekiti State, Mrs. Abibbat Ogunjobi expressed appreciation to Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his efforts to make life more meaningful for all strata of the society, noting that the loan scheme would boost economic activities in the State.

She however called for an extension of repayment period from three to six months or more.