Standard Bank gave N2.2 billion loan to 1,100 SME in Nigeria

Standard Bank Head of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), banking in Africa, Amrei Botha, has said that the bank has disbursed N2.2 billion to 1,100 persons in Nigeria in seven months. Bothatold said that the bank’s subsidiary in Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank, disbursed N120 million per week to SME operators.
“Nigeria is an important market in Africa, due to its huge size and high purchasing power but Nigerian business is highly informal, just like most African businesses. Standard Bank Group launched a new lending facility that uses a psychometric assessment to provide loans to SMEs in Africa, this product is set to revolutionise the way finance is provided to the largely informal business sector,’’ Botha said. She said Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania were the countries used for the pilot project. According to her, the project is in full operation in 15 states, namely; Abia, Anambra, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Rivers and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory . Bothasaid in 2012 the credit facilities would be expanded to