The Bank of Industry has extended its MSME Development State Matching Fund initiative to 19 states, after it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kaduna State Government to manage a N1 billion matching fund aimed at promoting industrial and MSME development within the state.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, said the matching fund was intended to positively impact on the industrial development of the state, adding that the synergy would provide a veritable platform for Kaduna State to experience accelerated economic growth and transformation.
The Executive Governor, Kaduna State, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, while imploring the Bank to ensure judicious use of the funds, said that the MoU in acknowledgement of the fact that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) remained a critical aspect in implementing the industrialization policy of his administration, given their potential to reduce poverty and push job and wealth creation for people living in the state.