Date: 2015-10-11

Mr. Olusegun Soewu is the technical adviser to the Kwara State governor on Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Agriculture. In this interview he spoke on the successes recorded from the entrepreneurship scheme introduced by the state government.

Entrepreneurship is seen as the way out of economic challenges, how does the Kwara scheme work?

What we have in Kwara State is called the Kwara Micro Credit Intervention Scheme, under which we have four windows, which include the agric window and the transport window. Under the transport window you can get motorcycles, taxis and buses, artisan fund and fund for trade and commerce.

Over the last four years, we have been able to tackle the funding challenges of micro and small businesses. At every point in life, money is not always enough in an economy. But we are getting response from the small and medium enterprises, which was why we came up with Kwara’s next entrepreneurship programme, where the state government has invested N150m. And we hope to service people with requests from N3m to N10m. 

Let me add here that the money for Kwara’s next entrepreneur has been deposited into the Bank of Industry. We are only waiting to kick-start the programme.

Who are the beneficiaries of the Kwara Micro Credit Intervention Scheme?

It cuts across and that is why I said we had four windows. We have given to agric and we have managed the off-taker-driven agric scheme. The artisan is N100m. Under the transport scheme we have given out more than 150 taxis, 25 buses and 200 motorcycles.

How much does a beneficiary get under the scheme?

The amount is not fixed, but we look at the demand of applicants and the type of business they want to invest in to determine how much to be given to them. We also look at their challenges in terms of the business they are into. The maximum amount we give is discretionary, in the sense that we look at what applicants are doing, go to their places of work, assess the environment and ask questions on those areas and take it up after the assessment. 

What are the terms and conditions for assessing the credit?

We charge 5 per cent interest on whatever applicants collect per annum. And we expect them to pay back the fund in one year, spread across the 12 months, after which beneficiaries are allowed to reapply for another credit. 

How much has the state government expended on the intervention scheme?

The state government has spent N695m on the micro-credit intervention scheme, with a turnover of N1.202bn.

What are the contributions of the captains of industry who will appraise applicants for the next entrepreneurship programme?  

We choose them because of their vast experience in investment and business. These people will help us talk to the applicants and give them professional advice on how much they really need for their business. They will advise them to either reduce or increase the amount they apply for. 

They also share from their wealth of experience with the applicants and to also let people know that the programme is open to everybody in the state, and that there will not be favouritism in giving out the credit to applicants. Let me also add here that these captains of industry do not have any financial contribution into the programme. It is fully funded by the Kwara State government.

Is the state government getting support from any quarter for the programme?

For now, we don’t enjoy any partnership, but we hope to get. However, we are working with micro-finance banks that disburse the money to our applicants. We are also open to support and partnership.

Is there room for expansion of the scheme, in terms of increasing the fund?

When we started the Kwara Micro Credit Intervention Scheme, we only began with N250m and later increased it. We are looking at it wholly; maybe we will later break it down into manufacturing and stuff like that, but let us see what we can get out of the N150m first and as we progress. There will always be need for adjustment, introduction of new ideas and all that.

What is your assessment of the programme on the lives of the people in the state?

One thing is that people have access to cheaper fund because of the low interest rate, and we have been able to get a turnaround of N1.202bn. Of course you should know that what we invested in the programme did not probably sink. It has spread across. We have been able to deepen trade and investment in the state. The beauty of it is that it is not just within the state capital, it is spread all over the state.  

The off-taker agric demand extension is in all the 16 local governments of the state. When we gave out the taxis, buses and motorcycles they went round the whole state. And we make use of selected micro-finance banks in the locality close to the people at the grassroots for them to assess the fund easily.

How do farmers access their own fund in the agric window? Do you buy farm tools for them or give them money to purchase what they need for farming? 

They come to us as a cooperatives; and when they come, we give them a small amount to clear the land, after which we inspect the land to know if they have actually gotten the same measurement of land they collected money for. The whole idea of the agric window is to produce, not to waste because whatever the farmers produce would be bought before they harvest them. We have what is called the off-takers agric demand system in place. We have an agro mall somewhere around the Ministry of Agriculture. 

It is an office where you have buyers of agric produce, banks nominated by the Kwara State government, agric input providers such as seeds, fertilizers, chemicals and all that, including extension. For instance, if an off-taker wants a hundred tons of whatever items, the costing would be done at the agric mall, of which the volume of land for the produce must have been determined. 

The state government, through the micro-credit, will now pay for everything and monitor it from the clearing of the land till the harvest when the off-taker will take the produce. We are doing this because farmers are not able to stock for too long; so rather than stock and get spoilt later, the produce are taken immediately.

What monitoring measure did you put in place to stop the beneficiaries from misusing the fund?

We don’t disburse directly from our office here. We do that through the micro-finance banks. There is agreement between us in such a way that beneficiaries access fund at banks closest to their places of business. So the monitoring is largely done by the banks.