Cross River State has just cleared 500 small business owners to tap into the SMEDAN-Sterling Bank loan program, sitting at 5% interest. The state's microfinance agency pulled this together after sifting through over 1,000 applications, and they put everyone through enterprise training and business plan workshops before signing off on anything. Governor Bassey Otu basically bankrolled the whole thing, even threw in 1,000 free business registrations during the rollout.
CRSMEDA's director said the repayment structure runs two to three years on a revolving basis, which means the money keeps cycling to new entrepreneurs once the first wave pays back. The local chamber of commerce called it an early Christmas for small businesses in the state, with the vice president saying the private sector is fully behind the move. A few loan recipients mentioned the funding would seriously help scale their operations.
CRSMEDA's director said the repayment structure runs two to three years on a revolving basis, which means the money keeps cycling to new entrepreneurs once the first wave pays back. The local chamber of commerce called it an early Christmas for small businesses in the state, with the vice president saying the private sector is fully behind the move. A few loan recipients mentioned the funding would seriously help scale their operations.
