The Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) has launched a £2 million COVID Fund to support solutions that can reasonably provide succour to the debilitating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income individuals/households and MSMEs in Nigeria.
The funds, provided by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), is expected to support financial service-enabled solutions for access to liquidity, healthcare, and food.
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This disclosure was made by the British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, during a webinar on December 8th, which was focused on how to address most challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in developing nations.
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What they are saying
According to Ben Llewellyn-Jones,
- “The pandemic has affected Nigeria in many ways as evidenced through job losses, increases in prices, and access to liquidity. This is the time to promote innovative digital solutions, and the £2 million COVID Fund represents another response in enabling citizens to access financial services.”
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According to the research conducted by EFInA and partners in Nigeria,
- “Many households are experiencing food insecurity, reduced income, and challenges accessing required health services and the widespread use of digital financial services can help address these challenges.”
According to the EFInA’s Chief Executive Officer, Ashley Immanuel,
- “Our scenario analysis shows that innovative digital financial services can strengthen recovery and resilience. The three most pressing needs that we aim to solve with the COVID-19 Fund are access to Liquidity, Healthcare & Food. We need innovative solutions that provide access to credit, enable income-earning opportunities, facilitate electronic payments, and help people get money more quickly. EFInA seeks to fund solutions that enable access for vulnerable and excluded groups including women and those in rural and northern areas.”
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According to the Investment Lead at LINKS, Aisha Yakubu Bako,
- “Many financial institutions require increased access to funds, which has provided the opportunity for organizations such as LINKS to support businesses by providing wage subsidies. However, this is not enough, as there is a need to continue to develop innovative solutions that will help de-risk growing businesses. There is also need for partnerships with mobile networks that are independent businesses to make cash available through digital transfers and allow faster access to funds.”
According to Bunmi Lawson, Director of EFInA,
- “The grant is a £2 million fund to help increase access to credit, enable value chains, increase household access to food and provide solutions to improve access to health care. Applicants must have or partner with an organization that has a proven track record of success for providing digital financial services. We will pay attention to projects that are sustainable, can scale post-funding, and focuses on gender inclusivity. Existing financial service providers can also apply to scale their current operations.”
What you should know about the EFInA grant
- This grant will focus on supporting solutions that can mitigate the far-reaching impact of COVID-19 on low-income individuals/households (defined as those earning N50,000 or less per month) and MSMEs in Nigeria.
- The objective of the EFInA COVID-19 Grant is to support the scale of financial service-enabled solutions that enables immediate access to liquidity, healthcare and food, and EFInA is dedicating a fund size of £2 million towards achieving this, with an individual grant range between £50,000 and £500,000.
- The application closes on January 6, 2021 and more information on how to apply for the fund can be obtained by visiting www.efina.org.ng.
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SIR, I wish to enlist my interest in EFInA fund to enable me effectively increase my hectrage and capacity to grow more sessme seed, maize, groundnut and beans in the coming season. Payment for 30 plots (3hectares) of land in Rogua near Gora in KARU. LGA of Nassarawa State of Nigeria just few kilometres from Abuja. Early procurements of hybrid seeds, chemical, firtilizer is more feasible and ECONOMICAL.TRACTOR HIRING AND OR LEASE in future together with the above items are estimated at N10m (Ten Million Naira) inclusive of marketing and distribution expenses.propitiouseconomic and financial factors to ensure feasible and prompt repayment is guaranteed. Several collateral and comfort margins are available for our. mutual comfort. Kindly, intimate me of details/conditions and grant me approval favourably. I rely on your very good office of your early favorable response and approval sir. Yours Faithfully, Idoko, James Otogo.