The Bank of Industry (BOI) has disbursed interest-free loans to more than 350,000 beneficiaries the 36 states of the federation including the FCT since December 2016, under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), one of the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) of the Federal Government.

In the last two editions of this column we outlined some basic features of Wema Bank’s small businesses loan package, ‘myBusiness Account’ in the three variants – Bronze, Silver and Gold.

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has stated that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have the potential to greatly enhance the tax revenue profile of the country if adequately harnessed.

Diamond Bank Plc has announced its disbursement of over N1 billion under the cash flow-based small and medium enterprise (SME) lending scheme.

MTN Nigeria has empowered 100 women from the Police Officers Wives’ Association (POWA), Lagos State chapter, with the provision of mobile stalls to sell products such as airtime and data through the use of digital gadgets.

A marathon can be a gruelling test in mental and physical endurance and is not one for the faint hearted. The entrepreneurship journey can be a difficult path for most. Here are tips on marathon preparation that can help on your entrepreneurship journey.

I think regulators are too harsh on companies with the numerous and high amount of fines they impose on companies. The money that companies pay as fine is shareholders own. So I feel regulators should be soft pedal on the fines they impose on companies. It is the employees that somehow flout some of these rules. Why should shareholders bear the brunt? Also, the amount of fine they charge these companies need to be reviewed. For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for a single offence, charges not less than N50 million. This is really too much and is affecting the amount that would have been given us as dividend.

Linkage Assurance Plc has secured the approval of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to underwrite agric insurance.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, recently introduced guidelines for USSD transactions. Among other things the guidelines include daily limit of N100, 000 on USSD transaction, apparently in a bid to checkmate fraud through the channel. Some bank customers who spoke with Financial Vanguard shared the opinion about the limit

Banks and other stakeholders in the financial sector have been advised to focus on priority areas in implementing financial inclusion so as to fast-track the achievement of the goals.