No fewer than 80,000 loan seekers have applied for the N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a stimulus package to support households and micro, small and medium enterprises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The objective of the facility is to allow firms to remain afloat, ensure that people stay employed as well as to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
The Managing Director of Nirsal Micro Finance Bank, which is disbursing the special facility, Abubakar Kure, stated that 40,000 of the applicants are households.
According to him, the submission of a business plan is no longer a mandatory requirement to benefit from the loan and CBN does not charge application fees.
Disbursements of the loan is billed to commence next week.