- Jaiz Bank bags financial partners’ endorsement
BY COBHAM NSA – About 6,122 entrepreneurs will soon gain access to affordable financing for their businesses courtesy of the ‘GROW Fund Scheme’ recently launched by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
This is as Jaiz Bank PLC has received endorsement to manage the financing scheme targeted at funding expansion for the entrepreneurs who have completed the training and entrepreneurship development programme under the Inspire, Create, Start and Scale (ICSS) initiative.
According to the Director General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, other partners in the scheme include the German Cooperation through GIZ, Kaduna Business School, and GOPA worldwide consultants.
Odili, who spoke at the Scheme’s unveiling ceremony in Abuja, said the initiative signals a significant shift from routine training to a more structured support framework that directly links capacity building to single-digit interest loans and asset financing.
He said: “Everywhere you go, you see small businesses. Many of them have received training through several capacity development initiatives. To ensure that training meets capital, SMEDAN took the ICSS scheme to find solutions to the complaint by the banks that they have money, but our trainees have not been equipped enough to unlock the funding.”
On the Scheme’s roadmap, Odili said: “SMEDAN has set up a standardized training for small businesses, and when they’re done, they can now unlock financing,” adding “We know that financing in this part of the country is very expensive and very scarce. So, SMEDAN is making available affordable financing at single-digit for small businesses to enable them to grow.”
In her remarks, the representative of the German Embassy in Abuja, Dr Karin Jansen, praised SMEDAN for providing leadership to other partners in the development and implementation of the ICSS programme across Lagos Edo, Ogunye, Niger, Plateau States as well as Abuja, the Federal Capitàl Territory (FCT).
Jansen, who is also the First Secretary and Head of Cooperation in the Embassy, said the scheme was designed as a modular entrepreneurship pathway to meet the needs of small businesses at different stages of their development, from inspiration and business creation to sustainable growth and scaling.
She noted with satisfaction that the programme has been successfully institutionalised within Nigerian structures through SMEDAN and Kaduna Business School, thereby ensuring sustainability, national ownership and long-term continuity.
The First Secretary also said the programme has continued to expand its reach nationwide with 52 accredited training organizations currently delivering ICSS, in addition to the establishment of the ICSS Institute in Abuja by SMEDAN.
Jansen further said that in partnership with the ICSS National Steering Committee, Kaduna Business School and SMEDAN, the German government has, through the GIZ, committed about N50 million as dedicated loan facility managed by Jàiz Bank.
She explained that the loan facility offers between N250,000 and N2 million to starters, and between N1 million and N5 million for scale beneficiaries, with about 50 beneficiaries, particularly women and young entrepreneurs, expected to receive financing during the pilot phase.
Also speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer of Jaiz Bank Plc, Dr Haruna Musa, described the scheme as a catalyst for innovation, job creation and sustainable economic development.
Dr Musa, who was represented by General Manager of the Bank, Idris Ahmed, said the fund represents more than a financial intervention, as it symbolizes a renewed commitment by the Bank and other stakeholders to empower entrepreneurs and promote inclusive growth.
“At Jaiz Bank, we firmly believe that sustainable economic growth must be inclusive. Empowering small businesses remains central to our non-interest banking model”, Musa said.
While noting that MSMEs play a critical role in job creation, grassroots economic transformation and innovation, the Jaiz Bank’s boss said the GROW Fund scheme would provide entrepreneurs with the resources required to unlock their potential and build resilient enterprises capable of contributing meaningfully to national development.
He lauded SMEDAN for spearheading the ICSS programme and for working to address the structural gaps that have long limited MSMEs’ access to financing, stressing that beneficiaries must deploy the funds strategically to expand operations, create employment and strengthen business sustainability.
Highlight of the event was the presentation of cheques to some of the 100 beneficiaries selected to receive the loan packages from the Scheme.
