The Bank of Industry (BOI) has announced the extension of the application for the Rural Area Program for Investment and Development (RAPID) for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Community groups in rural areas to June 12.
This was disclosed in a post on the official X handle of the bank where it explained that the extension of the deadline was to allow entrepreneurs the opportunity to apply for the loan.
It states, “The application deadline for the RAPID initiative has been extended to June 12, 2024, allowing all interested entrepreneurs the opportunity to participate.”
The RAPID funding program aims to provide loans of up to N10 million to MSMEs in rural areas at a 5% interest rate for a tenure of 3 years. The bank noted that interested applicants visit its website to apply.
Objectives of the RAPID program
The objective of the program is to assist communities in rural and economically disadvantaged areas in utilizing available resources to develop enterprises.
These enterprises aim to provide employment, improve the standard of living, contribute to national growth, and address insecurity stemming from youth restiveness.
The Bank of Industry (BOI) earlier in May launched the RAPID program in Lagos with the target of empowering 10 beneficiaries per state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) totalling 370 beneficiaries.
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Following the removal of fuel subsidy, the federal government announced various grants and loan programs aimed at alleviating the impact of the subsidy removal on their businesses.
The programs include; the N75 billion single-digit loan to manufacturers and the N50,000 grant to nano businesses across the 744 local government areas of the country. There is also a N200 billion grant to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) all over the country.
The Federal Government’s Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme (PCGS), offers non-repayable financial grants to eligible small business owners in various sectors, including trading, food services, ICT, transportation, creative industries, and artisans.
The PCGS plans to allocate 70% of the grants to women and youths, 10% to individuals with disabilities, and 5% to senior citizens, with the remaining 15% designated for other demographics.
The Bank of Industry (BOI) is also partnering with the federal government in the distribution of the N200 billion loan to manufacturers and SMEs across the country which has already been launched.
According to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka Anitie, under the program, N75 billion will be distributed to MSMEs while another N75 billion will be distributed to the manufacturing industry under the Presidential Intervention Fund.