Following the roll out of the guidelines for the Creative Industry Funding Initiative by the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN), Access Bank has opened its doors for players in the film and music industry to access the needed funding.
Executive director, Business Banking at Access Bank, Mrs. Chizoma Okoli, speaking on the funding plan for the creative sector said the bank believes that lending to this sector will boost the capacity of the sector to attract foreign exchange and create jobs for Nigerians.
The Creative Industry Financing Initiative Fund (CIFI) was established by the CBN in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee and will enable businesses in the industry obtain loans up to the tune of N500 million.
Okoli said Access Bank was committed to making the CIFI a huge success. She said that Fashion, Information Technology, Movies, and Music are the four segments in the scheme.
She explained that to be eligible for the initiative, interested borrowers must have businesses in fashion, Information Technology, Movie Production, Movie Distribution, Music and Software Engineering Student Loan.
According to her, having satisfied the requirements of having a business in any of the areas highlighted above, the prospective borrower is then required to prepare a business plan or proposal on how much is needed for such a business. She said the loan will be given at a single digit interest rate, adding that the loans can be accessed at a maximum interest rate of nine per annum (all charges inclusive) on all loans at any bank.
“Our support for the creative industry is meant to create more jobs. Every bank can access the Fund on your behalf. We want to handle it in a way we have information from you, so that we can have informed decision.
We do not know the industry and we do not claim to know it. We have already listed the things you need to bring to be able to access the funds,” Okoli said.
Zonal head, SME Banking at Access Bank, Bidemi Adeboye, said stakeholders in the creative industries such as fashion, Information Technology, movie production, movie distribution, music and software engineering student could access the loans.