FG And Access Bank Join Forces to Empower 4 Million MSMEs, Generate 384,000 Job Opportunities

The federal government has partnered with Access Bank to ensure access to funds for Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria through the “YouThrive by Access” initiative. 

This collaboration aims to tackle Nigeria’s high unemployment rate by facilitating job creation. Chioma Ogwo, Head of non-financial services, and emerging businesses at Access Bank, highlighted that participating small businesses will receive support in various forms, including capacity building, affordable finance, and digital and technical training. 

Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on job creation and MSMEs, emphasized that this initiative aligns with the government’s goal of creating 380,000 jobs within four years.

“The plan is to create 384,000 jobs in four years. We will create these jobs for everyone to see. We will show you where the jobs are. You will hold us accountable,” Adekunle-Johnson said yesterday at the ‘Inaugural Job Creation and MSME Quarterly Communications Forum’ in Abuja.

Ogwo said Access Bank has earmarked N50 billion for the intervention programme. She said participants would access the loans at 15 percent interest rate, while free grants would also be given to deserving SMEs who have distinguished themselves.

“We are looking at empowering 4 million in four years – one million yearly. 700,000 would be given access to finance every year, 300, we will train,” Ogwo said, adding that “We have a business exchange programme for the beneficiaries that would enable the SMEs to go and exchange ideas with their counterparts in other countries. We will then learn the best from the best and come back to replicate it in Nigeria.”

This was as the minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Olatunbosun Tijani said for government to tame the nation’s economic challenges, “we must prioritise support for small businesses.”