More than 100 Youths Take Advantage Of SME, UNDP Training In Niger – More than 100 youths on entrepreneurship skills development, was trained by the Small Medium Enterprises (SME) as well as Micro Finance Agency throughout Niger State.
Director General of SME,Mr Bako Bawa, told our correspondent on Wednesday in Minna that the programme was in partnership with the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP).
He said that the youths were trained in six different areas of skills development programmes including Information Communication Technology (ICT), pure water making, bakery, tailoring and modern agricultural production.
“The youths trained comprised of males and females and the different skills they acquired had given them different business ideas to set up their own business.
“As entrepreneurs, they would also train other apprentice to become self reliant,” he said.
Bawa said that the SME has 33 micro finance banks in the state which give loans to 10 trained people as seed money to set up a business.
“We have what is called direct empowerment where those with business ideas are given loans directly from micro finance banks.
“We don’t give loans on collateral but on trust, guarantee, it must be a group of people that want to form a cooperative society.
“The only thing you needs is to have what is called equity contribution with the banks. You must have an account with the bank with some certain per cent of money in it.
“Micro finance banks give loans to cooperative societies using cross guarantee methodology.
“The minimum loan we give to an average individuals varies from N5, 000 to N20, 000 while the maximum we give to a group of people is N200, 000 upward.”
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