Interest Free Loans & Grants Application-Access Bank through the W Initiative had empowered a number of women-owned Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) at Surulere, Lagos during October’s series of grassroots engagements.
The W Initiative is dedicated to encouraging and empowering women as well as connecting them with one another. In 2019, Access Bank and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) launched a Matching Fund loan scheme with a total of N2 billion to provide financial assistance to women-owned businesses that are located in Lagos State.
This loan program is tailored to meet the needs of Startups, Micro Enterprises, as well as Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, and the available loan amounts range from N50,000 to N5 million.
The Access Bank’s W Initiative and the LSETF teams embarked on a series of grassroots engagement sessions in the month of October to educate businesswomen residing in Lagos on the availability of the facility, the procedures, as well as the requirements that are involved. This was done as a means of raising awareness and bridging the information gap.
Abiodun Olubitan, the Group Head of the W Initiative, stated in his opening remarks that “women are a driving force in the Nigerian economy, but their access to finance is far too small.” This statement was made while the session was being opened. As a result, Access Bank entered into a partnership with LSETF in order to close the gap. This initiative will increase the contributions of businesses owned by women to the economy of Nigeria, which has the potential to have a significant impact on the country’s overall development.
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