Wale JAGUN
-Disbursement made to 106 beneficiaries in the first batch last December
Beneficiaries of the Hon. Sanai Agunbiade’s N20million Free Interest Loan in partnership with the Lagos State employment Trust Fund (LSETF) on Wednesday, January 23, 2019, were trained in the art of book keeping, customer relations and business management by the officials of the LSETF.
The training, which was held at the Elite Hall, off Lagos Road, Ikorodu, was the final step for the 82 beneficiaries in the Second Batch of the loan scheme facilitated by the lawmaker from the LSETF.
The first batch, which comprised of 106 beneficiaries, were trained last year while money were disbursed to them last December to aid their businesses.
According to the Director-General (DG), Onward Movement of Nigeria, the operational platform of the lawmaker, Hon. Azeez Jimoh Olosugbo, the free interest loan has been in existence for several years and it is aimed at supporting small scale business operators in order to enable them develop and expand their businesses.
“This is our training for the second batch of the beneficiaries of Hon. Agunbiade’s interest free loan. It is a way of not just giving our people fish but to also train them how to catch fish.
“Basically, we are preparing them for the challenging and dynamic business environment. One thing is for you to have access to loan, another thing is to know what to do with it.
“Our interest is not just to provide them with loan, but also to build their business capacity and ensure that the loan is not only use for the intended purpose but also yield profits and help them expand their businesses”.
He added that, “The purpose of the training is simply to make the beneficiaries aware of what to do with the money when they final get it, relate with their customers, prepare accounts and leverage on their business strength to make sure that the loan help them in expanding their businesses”.
Hon. Olosugbo, who stated that Hon. Agunbiade is paying the interest on the loan to the lending institution, also added that through the initiative, more residents in Ikorodu have access the LSETF fund.
“This is part of Hon. Agunbiade’s numerous empowerment and intervention programmes for the constituents. We are securing the loan from the LSETF for our people while Hon. Agunbiade pays the interest to the lending institution.
“We used to get the loan from banks before now, but with the initiative of our party’s government in Lagos State, Hon. Agunbiade decided to get the loan from the LSETF and pay the interest so that more of his people can benefit more.
“In actual fact, our expectations have been met because more people are actually accessing the LSETF loan and according to the institution, Ikorodu has recorded the highest number of beneficiaries since the inception the inception of the loan”,he stated.
Olosugbo, however, promised that the lawmaker is still very committed to helping many residents out of poverty through facilitation of loans to help their businesses.
