SMEDAN opens N5m loan application portal for SMEs

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, says it will open its portal Tuesday for receiving applications from small business owners for N1.2 million to N5million loans.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Dikko Radda, in a statement issued by the Corporate Affairs Unit of the Agency, said the loans would be funded from the SMEDAN-BOA Matching Fund Programme for small businesses.

Mr Radda said the opening of the programme portal would be a promotional intervention meant to deliver credit to the small businesses to enhance enterprise output, competitiveness and jobs creation.

He also stated that the disbursing entity, under the programme, shall be the Bank of Agriculture, BOA.

“Target beneficiaries for this programme shall be labour-intensive micro or small enterprises (MSEs), operating in the real sector. These shall ideally be innovative value-added products that are establishing footprint in the Nigerian market, and require additional funds to increase output,” the Director General said.

He, therefore, called for applications from all suitably qualified micro, small enterprises located in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Kaduna and Oyo states to apply for the programme.

Mr Radda added that prospective beneficiaries, who must be registered with SMEDAN, would get the loans on business-friendly terms, including waiver of collaterals.