The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved an initial N152 billion loan under its newly set up N300 billion Real Sector Support Fund (RSSF) for disbursements to five projects.
Details of the approved projects are not yet known, but the RSSF targets real sector activities in manufacturing, agricultural value chain and selected service sub-sectors.
The Facility specifically targets to support large enterprises for startups and expansion financing needs of N500 million up to a maximum of N10.0 billion.
It was saying that repayments under this facility are amortized. Ibrahim Muazu, Director Corporate Communications, CBN, confirmed last month that disbursements of the facility were yet to start, even though over 200 applications were being reviewed at the time.
“The borrower shall utilize the funds granted under the facility for the purpose for which it was granted; insure the project being financed; adhere strictly to the terms and conditions of the facility; make the project and records available for inspection/verification by the CBN, as well as comply with the guidelines of the facility,” the CBN warned.
Set up in March, the facility is to improve access to finance by Nigerian SMEs to fast-track the development of the manufacturing, agricultural value chain and services sub-sectors of the Nigerian economy. Trading activities are not accommodated under the facility.
RSSF was established part of the efforts to unlock the potential of the real sector to create output growth, value added productivity and job creation and complements the CBN’s existing schemes and interventions in the development agenda.