NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB) has resolved that the business plans for the N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility as a stimulus package to support households and MSMEs is no longer mandatory.
Before arriving at this decision, the bank had received 80,000 applications but ran into social media storm when it was discovered that it was charging between N5,000 and N10,000 from applicants to access the bank’s business plan.
Given the interest shown for the intervention, the disbursement of the N50 billion fund will commence next week.
Addressing reporters on the development in Abuja on Tuesday, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL Micro Finance Bank, Abubakar Abdullahi Kure explained why the bank changed its mind on the charges.
“To stem further controversy, the management of NMFB has resolved that the business plan is no longer a mandatory requirement and the third party provision of a business plan is no longer compulsory,” he said.
Kure also stated that 40,000 of the applcants that had so far applied for the facility were households.
The objective of the N50 billion facility, he said, was to allow firms stay in business and ensure people stay employed and mitigate harm on the economy.
Kure said: “The issue of business plan was a requirement for MSMEs applications as stipulated by CBN guideline.
“At the start of the process, business plans, which NIRSAL received from loan applicants were highly substandard and to ensure high standard and efficient processing, an optional, automated business plan was provided by a service provider at a highly discounted fee.
“This is to avoid applicants being charged excessively by other consultants and also to help people during the stay at home period and to make application process easy.”
He said the bank “got a third party service provider to enable applicants access the business plan through the internet”.
But given the outcry that followed the introduction of the charges, the managing director noted that “the management of the bank later resolved that a business plan was no longer a mandatory and the third party provision of a business plan was not compulsory too.
He added that the bank would still welcome applications from credible businesses and households affected by COVID-19 to mitigate it.
