Fintech firm, Extramile Africa, has offered N4 million worth of soft loans to drive financial inclusion and social empowerment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Speaking on the soft loan initiative, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Extramile Africa, Bankole Olalekan, said it is a move that would boost the economy, and redistribute wealth. According to him;
“Access to funds is one of the major challenges faced by MSMEs, hence, the need to fill the gap between financial institutions and small businesses. We are set to reach the hinterlands, especially where there are no banks. We plan to reach over 200,000 Nigerians and 5000 MSMEs in the next few months.”
Adequate funding for MSMEs is sacrosanct: The role of the SMEs sector in enhancing economic growth and development has, over time, been widely acknowledged around the world. Economic wealth is created through enterprises and the expansion of their output.
SMEs contribute to the economy by creating value through the production of goods and services, thus enhancing the gross domestic product. They also generate employment by creating much-needed jobs in the economy, as well as expanding the export sector largely through linkages with large firms that produce for the foreign sector.
However, the lack of adequate funding has been one of the major challenges facing the Nigerian SMEs sector. For a long time, entrepreneurs have struggled to raise financing for their businesses due to the lack of provision of credit facilities. It is, therefore, a good thing that something is finally being done about the situation.
About Extramile Africa: The company is a home-grown fintech solution that is empowering African entrepreneurs to create the jobs and create. The company serves as a fintech whose aim is to ignite opportunities for disruptive startups in Africa and investors (co-owners) by providing great returns for everyone.
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