NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NIRSAL MFB), has disbursed over N503 billion to over 1million Nigerians and businesses largely through the Federal Government’s COVID-19 intervention fund to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on households and small businesses.
Figures from the NIRSAL MFB showed that the bank disbursed N503,273,000,000 as loans to 1,053,215,837 beneficiaries, including individuals and families whose bread winners lost their jobs in 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The disbursements were made up of 612,321 households that received loans ranging from N250,000 to N1 million totalling N240,083,000,000; 103,185 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) between 2020 and December 2021 received loans valued at N104,023,000,000.
According to the figures published by the MFB on the disbursements, Households that are Non-Interest Beneficiaries (NIB) of the loans totalling 21,027 have so far secured facilities amounting to N9,091,000,000.
In addition, the bank disclosed that Small and Medium Enterprises under the Non-Interest scheme (NIB SME) numbering 2,710 have accessed N1,057,000,000, while 31,067 Agric Small Medium Enterprises Scheme (AGSMEIS) beneficiaries have accessed N116,001,000,000 from NIRSAL MFB in one year.
Also, it hinted that 105,244 Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) successful applicants had received loans amounting to N31,001,000,000 while 5,527 Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) have also drawn down N1,009,000,000 loans.
Speaking on the awards, NIRSAL MFB’s Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Abubakar Kure, said: “NMFB makes sure that all the six- geopolitical zones are beneficiaries to promote financial inclusion.
Kure explained that in disbursing the loans, the MFB prioritized women.
In 2021, 23 groups had conferred awards on NIRSAL MFB in recognition of its efforts to provide liquidity for COVID-19 pandemic seriously impacted households and businesses.
It would be recalled that at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Meeting in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the Committee was impressed with the Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) “for its contribution to alleviating poverty at the grassroots”.
