Abia State is set to launch a N10 billion Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) financing scheme to provide conditional business grants and low interest loans to support relevant enterprises in the state.
The governor, Alex Otti stated this after he was sworn into office in Umuahia, the state capital, explaining that detailed modalities for accessing these funds would be made public soon.
“It is my projection that a minimum of 20,000 MSMEs shall benefit from this fund over the next two years and shall in turn generate at least 100,000 direct jobs and another 200,000 indirect employment,” he explained.
“We will in partnership with others target MSMEs in high impact areas such as ICT, agriculture, small-scale manufacturing, fashion, leatherworks, and other areas where the state has strong comparative advantage.”
The governor added that the administration would also leverage on some of the major reforms in the power sector to provide structural support in the form of steady electricity access for the entrepreneurs.
“We shall also make sure that the major obstacles to business success such as poor road networks, over-taxation and restricted access to local and global markets are timeously dealt with.”
According to him, “As I stated earlier, our administration will be 100 per cent pro-business. We will give all necessary scope for the private sector to participate in the economic activities of the state.”
“The administration will not compete with the private sector, but remain a facilitator and only get involved in critical areas where the sector cannot immediately be a significant player or may not be profitable for it.”
The governor, who further announced his intention to create wealth for the citizens, added that it is through genuine public private sector collaboration that such a dream will be realised.
“To improve its rating in the area of ‘ease of doing business’ and bring it at par with states that have made gains in this area, I will set up a cabinet level position within the governor’s office to drive the agenda.”
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