The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bank of Industry and Sterling Bank as part of efforts to boost access to finance for small and medium-scale enterprises across the state.
The signing ceremony, which is part of activities for the launch of a new initiative tagged: Lagos State Access to Finance for SMEs through Co-operatives (LASMECO), is billed to hold on Wednesday at the Adeyemi Bero Hall, The Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.
According to the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Ambrose, LASMECO is a first-of-its-kind public-private financing platform that aims to deliver low-interest, risk-mitigated loans to SMEs across strategic sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, creative industries, manufacturing, and circular economy clusters.
Ambrose explained that the initiative was a game changer that would accelerate access to finance for small business owners in the state by providing a loan of up to N10m at an interest rate of nine percent for two to three years.
She added that the loans would be non-collateralised and would be 50 percent guaranteed by Sterling Bank.
She disclosed that the Access to Finance for SMEs initiative, which is to be launched by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, would be witnessed by key stakeholders in both the public and private sectors, including the Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Olasupo Olusi; Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Abubakar Suleiman; President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Francis Meshioye; and President, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Idahosa, among others.
During the event, the commissioner will sign the MoU on behalf of the state government, while the BoI MD will do the same for the bank.
The programme’s launch marks a significant milestone in Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES+ economic transformation agenda and pathway to industrial inclusiveness in Lagos State.
