Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State on Monday said 1,000 traders would benefit from the N210 million Central Bank of Nigeria’s Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Loans Scheme.
Shettima, who disclosed this at the disbursements ceremony in Maiduguri, said the loans would be disbursed to beneficiaries through the Borno State Renaissance Micro Finance Bank.
According to him, out of the N210 million, N20 million will be disbursed to persons with disabilities drawn from the 27 local government areas of the state.
Shettima also said traders from Gamboru, Customs, Baga and Timber Markets would be among the beneficiaries.
The governor said the state would bear the total interests on the loans, while the beneficiaries would only repay the exact amounts received from the scheme.
“The loan is for everybody, traders from Biu, Bama, Konduga and other part of the state would also benefit,” he said.
Shettima said the gesture was to cushion the effects of poor economic hardship in the state as a result of recurring insurgency.
Earlier, Hajiya Zainab Kolo, the Managing Director of Borno Renaissance Micro Finance Bank, said of the 1,000, beneficiaries, 660 were drawn from Maiduguri Monday Market, GSM market, and Entrepreneurship Development Centre.
NAN.