TheCable

Mariam Katagum, minister of state for industry, trade and investment, says the federal government has reserved 60 percent of the micro, small and medium enterprises development fund (MSMEDF) for women.

Katagum disclosed this during the recent Bank of Industry (BoI) international virtual women’s day 2021 celebration held in Abuja.

The MSMEDF was launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on August 15, 2013, with a share capital of N220 billion in recognition of the significant contributions of the MSMEs to the economy and bridge the existing financing gap.

“We thank Mr President for granting women this priority,” she said.

“Furthermore, this government has tried to balance female entrepreneurship through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment  Programme (GEEP); a N112 billion social intervention fund, which provides zero-interest financing to beneficiaries at the lower echelon of the business ecosystem, who are also predominantly market women.

“Since the introduction of the Fund in 2018, the Bank of Industry has recorded disbursements in excess of N38.1 billion, and 2.4 million citizens have benefited from the programme nationwide.

“Then, there is the MSME Development Fund (MSMEDF), a N220 billion fund, which is designed to address the unique challenges encountered by women in accessing credit in Nigeria; consequently 60% of this fund has been earmarked for women. These interventions were deliberately focused to increase women’s financial inclusion in Nigeria.”

The minister urged the society to address challenges the female gender face such as unequal opportunities to leadership positions, difficulty in owning land, difficulty in accessing credit and unequal opportunities for education and jobs.

Katagum applauded the current administration’s focus on women empowerment and also commended BoI for its continuous focus on supporting women-owned enterprises across Nigeria.