The Federal Government recently said that, working with over 4,000 agents, it has disbursed Trademoni to the tune of N12 billion to over 1.5 million Nigerians in over 2,600 markets and clusters across the 36 states and the FCT.
According to the Executive Director, Micro Enterprises , Bank of Industry (BoI), Mrs. Toyin Adeniji, about 53 per cent of the beneficiaries on the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) are females while 46 per cent of the beneficiaries are below the age of 35 years.
She disclosed that the GEEP has evolved into three products, marketmoni, farmermoni and tradermoni, adding that all the GEEP loans are interest – free while there are no stringent collateral requirements, stating that beneficiaries are supposed to open bank accounts or mobile wallets as a requirement for the loans and repayments are spread over six months.
Mrs. Adeniji explained that marketmoni is a loan between N50,000 and N300,000 for the upper end of micro enterprise, traders, market women, youths and artisans – the typical demographic for which the GEEP was conceived.
She added that possession of a BVN and membership of a certified market association or cooperative are required to access marketmoni loans, while the cooperative societies help to ensure that these loans are returned. Currently over 350,000 small business have accessed marketmoni loans since 2006 she said.
MarketMoni solves a major drawback suffered by small businesses: access to quick, low-cost lines of credit. The scheme lets enterprises obtain loans of between N50,000 and N300,000, free of interest; they’ll only need to pay a one-time 5 per cent administration cost, which can be repaid over a six month period, along with the initial interest. Persons seeking financial aid for their business through MarketMoni may get a loan of N10,000, N20,000, N50,000 or N100,000.
What’s required to get the loan?
•You’ll need to meet these criteria in order to qualify for the loan:
•Have a Bank Verification Number (BVN).
•Belong to an accredited market association or cooperative registered in your state or with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
•Your cooperative must be validated by the Bank of Industry (BoI).
•Have a business location verifiable by the BOI.
How to apply for the MarketMoni loan
Applications for the MarketMoni loan are made by cooperatives on behalf of their members. Such groups may do so by submitting their certificate of registration and other important information to the BoI.
Cooperatives can register for the loan online by downloading and filling the MOU document and Excel Sheet (the latter should be filled in with relevant information about the cooperative’s members). They can also visit any of the BOI’s offices or connect with a BOI focal person to assist them with the registration process. When a cooperative is deemed to qualify for assessment, MarketMoni agents will be dispatched to meet with their members and evaluate their loan worthiness. If it’s established that they are fit in this regard, they’ll receive a loan offer through their mobile phones. Loans will be disbursed within a few days of this notification.
Loan repayment
Repayment is made relatively convenient by the fact that it can be done on a weekly basis for six months. So, if you’ve been granted a N20,000 loan with a 5% administrative fee, you’ll be able to repay the N21,000 (N20,000+N1,000 administrative fee) by paying N875 per week. There’s also a grace period of two weeks for each repayment batch.
If loan beneficiaries don’t find it convenient to take constant trips to their banks to make repayments, bank agents will visit their business locations on a regular basis to take an account deposit instead.
