THE Fidelity Bank Plc has paid more than N2.2 billion under the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Scale Development Fund, MSMEDF, of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

Nnamdi Okonkwo, managing director of the bank, during the weekly Fidelity SME Forum in Lagos. said the bank had facilitated the loans for its customers. According to him, there has been no default and customers had made a total of N400 million in repayments. He explained that there had been no defaults because of the process through which these funds were accessed.

The CBN N220 billion MSMEDF was launched in 2013 and is targeted at providing financing for small and medium businesses in the agricultural value chain, services, cottage industries, artisans, trade and commerce and any income generating business.

Nnamdi while explaining that it was not possible for the CBN to give loans directly, said the bank had made it a point of duty in ensuring that funding gets to its SME customers.

“The challenge we have in Nigeria is that we have gotten so sceptical about the good intentions of either the government or the finance sector that people don’t really believe things work.

“The central bank is very serious about the N220 billion MSME fund. We are witnesses because we have customers who have accessed these funds through us. We have done about N2.2 billion and we have repayment of N400 million.

“The CBN cannot go to Aba and start lending that is why they need banks like Fidelity. We have not abandoned those people. We have planted a branch there and even lending to more and more of these customers. Fidelity Bank facilitates. – The Citizen

– May 2, 2017 @ 8:10 GMT