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Some traders at the Abubakar Gumi Central Market, Kaduna, have commended Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, for the collateral-free loan tagged TraderMoni, to boost their businesses. Osinbajo, who was in the state to launch the state’s edition of the scheme was accompanied by Governor Nasir El-rufai and other dignitaries, to acknowledge beneficiaries and encourage them to judiciously use the loan.
Speaking at the launch, Osinbajo said when the traders repay the collateral-free loan of N10,000, they qualify for higher sums of N15,000, N20,000, N50,000 and N100,000. He said the loan was meant to empower them to expand their businesses and trade.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Esther Onne, who was full of praises for the vice president, said the money would go a long way to drive her food stuff market.
“I really appreciate our vice president for promoting this initiative. I have heard about the success of the scheme in other parts of the country but I thought it will be politicised. But to my surprise, it is a very fair process. I have received the money and immediately invested it in my business,” she affirmed.
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Another trader in ginger and garlic, Jafar Abubakar, admitted his initial scepticism about TraderMoni but had a change of mind when he was registered. He noted with delight that the process was very easy and did not require him to provide any documents or qualifications. He said the money will be used in expanding his business. “I will use the N10,000 to buy more ginger and garlic, which will help me sell more. I am grateful to the Federal Government and I will repay the loan.”
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In a similar vein, another TraderMoni beneficiary, Mrs. Grace Adewole, who deals in kitchen utensils was full of praises for the government for the timely intervention. According to her, she only registered for the scheme after seeing her neighbour in the market receive her cash disbursement of N10,000.
“I currently sell plastic spoons used for eating but with this money, I’ll invest in buying serving spoons which has a higher profit.”
When asked if she would repay the collateral-free loan within the allotted six months, she said, “I hope to repay the loan in two months to enable me qualify for the higher amount of N15,000 all the way to N100,000. I really want to thank the Federal Government; they did well.”
TraderMoni, which has been launched across different states in Nigeria aims to empower two million micro businesses with a minimum of 30,000 loans earmarked for each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before the end of 2018. Through Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in partnership with Bank of Industry (BoI), hundreds of thousands of Nigerians are beginning to access credit for the expansion of their businesses irrespective of their financial and social backgrounds. The initiative also supports the Federal Government’s drive for financial inclusion by leveraging on technology and mobile money solutions.
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