Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and NIRSAL Microfinance Bank disbursing N419.42bn through the targeted credit facility, TCF, since its launch in April 2020, a significant portion remains unpaid, amounting to N261.07bn.
Initially intended to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on households and small and medium enterprises, SMEs, the TCF has faced challenges in loan repayment.
Document from CBN states that the facility has been instrumental in creating 1,585,872 direct and indirect job opportunities, contributing positively to Nigeria’s employment landscape.
However, despite these achievements, only approximately N41.39 billion has been repaid in principal, with interest repayments totaling around N174.60 million.
However, there is a significant outstanding amount of roughly N378.03 billion, with an overdue amount of N261.07 billion, indicating that a large number of recipients have not kept up with their repayment schedules.
READ ALSO: EPL: Ahead of Burnley clash, Chelsea suffers setback as four more players sustain injury
The document stated that each of the top beneficiaries of the loan get N2.5m for the purpose of SME finance but categorised as ‘non-performing’, indicating challenges or failures in repayment.
Only one, Centriculture Limited, has been noted as ‘performing’, with a repayment of N1m.
Some recommendations made in the document include subsuming the intervention under the Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme, AgSMEIS for better management and outcomes.
Another recommendation is developing a clear exit strategy that aligns with the outstanding balance to aid in the smooth final closure of the scheme.
