2m entrepreneurs to get loans from ASBON, Ogun, MasterCard

Olufemi Egbesola, president of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), said the group, in conjunction with Ogun State ministry of commerce and industry and MasterCard Worldwide, had concluded plans to empower and disburse credit facilities to about two million entrepreneurs operating in the country.

Egbesola said in Abeokuta on Friday during a meeting with Bimbo Ashiru, commissioner for commerce and industry in Ogun state, that the credit facilities, which would be disbursed to about two million operators of small business in the country, was a form of economic empowerment, adding that the programme would start for the first set of small business operators in the state.

According to ASBON president, a maximum of N2.5 million would be disbursed to an owner of a small business as soft loan across the country to boost SMEs and commerce as well as create direct and indirect jobs, especially in Ogun State, through the upgrade of abandoned Yewa International Market (located along Idi-Iroko, Nigeria-Republic of Benin borders) to hyper shopping malls.

He noted that the association would be working with three Nigeria’s commercial banks through which the loans would be disbursed in conjunction with the multinational financial services corporation – MasterCard-, saying that over 500 entrepreneurs had already been gathered to use the hyper shopping malls as business clusters when the upgrade of Yewa international market was completed.

He, however, appealed to Ogun State government to improve security network and provide mini fire service around the place, asking the ministry commerce and industry in the state to assist in the area of human capital development of small business owners.

“We have sent a proposal that we will manage Yewa international malls for the State government,” he said.

“We have gathered like 500 people to use the malls. We want to bring clusters of business people to the area. We are in partnership with MasterCard. This will empower 2 million small business people in Nigeria through our platform and we want it to start from Ogun state. We also have partnership with three banks for disbursement of the credit facilities to entrepreneurs,” he added.

Responding, Bimbo Ashiru, Ogun State commissioner for commerce and industry, confirmed that the state government had received ASBON’s proposal on the renovation and upgrade of Yewa International Market to hyper shopping malls, particularly for import and export trade, saying that the ministry would involve ASBON in its economic planning on the hyper shopping malls.

“We will have to include ASBON at the planning stages of Yewa international market upgrade. We are ready to work with you (ASBON) and partner with you in order to achieve economic viability and greatness,” Ashiru said.

RAZAQ AYINLA