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Nigeria’s biggest lender in the SME space, Access Bank Plc has announced that it is collaborating with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to roll out the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) 2.0 in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the bank, successful beneficiaries of GEEP 2.0 shall receive congratulatory and sensitization text messages in the coming days informing them of their qualification and re-emphasis that the empowerment program is a loan and not a grant.
“All qualified beneficiaries will soon receive their disbursement alerts after being fully enumerated. We wish to remind all qualified beneficiaries that this is a loan payable within 9 months without interest.
The Ministry is planning a rollout of the program nationwide, after which an enumeration exercise to capture beneficiaries’ biodata, will take place”.
Speaking further, the Group Head, Emerging Businesses, Access Bank Plc, Ayodele Olojede, said the bank remains committed to the growth and development of the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) while adding that it understands their contribution to the economy in terms of GDP and employment.
“Our partnership with the Federal government to roll out GEEP 2.0 in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory is part of our commitment to address the primary factor small business owners face”, she said.
In rolling out the Government Enterprise and Empowerment business Programme GEEP 2.0 loans, special accounts will be opened for all beneficiaries for the disbursement of the loan and all beneficiaries are expected to complete physical enumeration at their various local government and an account opening form of Access Bank prior to disbursement.
The GEEP 2.0 is a loan scheme designed by the Federal Government to provide financial inclusion and give credit access to poor and vulnerable individuals, including Persons with disability and persons at the bottom of the economic pyramid who are engaged in small scale commercial activities under its three flagship schemes: MarketMoni, TraderMoni and FarmerMoni.
