CBN considers funding for young entrepreneurs

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is working on instituting a framework that would enable young graduates from Nigerian universities to access low-cost loans for their own businesses.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who broke the news yesterday in his keynote speech at the Convocation Lecture for the 51st Convocation ceremonies of the University of Lagos, said the framework on supporting youth entrepreneurship will be developed by the CBN’s development finance department in collaboration with the Nigerian universities management.

“Our team from the development finance department at the CBN will go right to the universities and draw a framework under which this can be done because this is one aspect where we can begin to stimulate the entrepreneurship in our youths,” Emefiele said.

Congratulating the graduating students, Emefiele urged them to take advantage of some of the bank’s intervention programs directly aimed at supporting SMEs such as the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS); Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF); Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP); Agri-business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS); Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI); Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) and the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

Speaking on the topic: “National Development and Knowledge Economy in the Digital Age: Leapfrogging SMEs in the 21st Century,” he said the young graduates can access seed capital from several youth investment-friendly programmes and interventions schemes set up by the CBN like the the N75 billion Nigerian Youth Investment Fund and Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) to kick off their businesses.

He said the youths will have necessary inputs to build successful SMEs and other businesses. Emefiele said that embracing the schemes will enable the new graduates to be creating jobs, not just for themselves but for others.

“I must confess that given the population growth rate, and the large number of our graduating students, we need to begin to see how Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be incubated. The SMEs are the ones that develop and grow to large corporates, and become great companies in the future. Going from this lecture today, we would like to see more universities, to begin to conduct sort of entrepreneurship development competition programme,” Emefiele said.

Nation/Hauwa Abu