Kano Govt gets N2b from CBN fo SMEs

The government of Kano State has secured a N2 billion Small and Medium Enterprises fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has said that the money will soon be disbursed to artisans in the state through the 37 government-owned microfinance banks.

He stated that women would constitute 63 percent of beneficiaries of the fund, which is an interest free loan.

The governor explained that the decision to allocate larger percentage of the money to women is based on the  desire to empower them economically and lift families out of poverty.
He made the assertion during the inauguration of the reconstituted boards of the microfinance banks.

According to the governor, the boards of the banks were reconstituted to give them a new lease on life.

“The banks were virtually dead when we came in and the money was stolen. The banks were disorganized. We have to reorganize them to enable them perform up to expectation," he said.

Ganduje disclosed that the state anti-corruption agency has been directed to focus its search light on the banks so that anyone found misappropriating funds would face the full wrath of the law.

He directed local government councils in the state to patronize the microfinance banks especially by depositing their revenue funds, adding that the state government would also help the banks to become vibrant by carrying out its empowerment programmes through them.