The Bank of Industry (BOI) recently launched One Billion Naira Empowerment Fund in support of the Nigerian Fashion Industry .At the launching of the funds in Lagos, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, the Managing Director of the Bank who explained that the fund was to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), described the Nigerian Fashion Designers as one of the most creative in the world, having been trained in most of the best fashion schools across the globe.
The fund coming under the Gender Unit of the Bank, is targeted toward women-owned businesses and it is designed such that each successful applicant can access close to 30 milion Naira. The bank’s Managing Director explained that the bank has increased its funding initiatives to cluster creations and has so far recognised 34 cluster creations nationwide to drive its funding initiatives.
To this end, the bank has tailored each cluster based on its peculiarities. Mr Olaoluwa noted that there has been a lot of talk about SME funding, but with less actions hence this cluster arrangements. The highly elated BOI Chief declared at the launching of the fund that: “We are excited about this fund because of the impact it is going to make in promoting job creation, especially among the youths because fashion business globally is worth about $1trillion”.
“With the growing population of over 170 million, increasing purchasing power of the middle class, it is obvious that fashion business is and will be a money spinner for Nigeria’s economy in the next few years”, He decried the state of the textile industry, saying that it had not benefited enough from the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), due to poor competitiveness.
This, he contended, had forced fashion designers to rely heavily on the use of imported fabrics. The Managing Director revealed that a study he conducted on Nigeria’s ailing textile industry shows that Nigeria is 20 years behind in global competitiveness because about 150 companies have shut down in the last 10 years.
The Bank according to him is now focused on providing support for the stakeholders to boost the sector . According to the criteria set by the bank for the loan, it would require a five per cent deposit of the loan sum, two reputable guarantors, a bank guarantee, and most importantly, a business with a consistent cash flow, a referral from standard, relevant association . A maximum of five million naira only would be given out to individuals.
Mrs Funmi Ajila-Ladipo, President, Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), lauded BoI for the initiative. She said the loan would encourage more fashion entrepreneurs to expand their businesses, and urged the bank to provide training, build capacity and guidance for budding entrepreneurs in the industry “as funding is not the only challenge facing the industry.’’ She said there was a need for BoI to encourage the creation of more production hubs and vocational centres and not focus on the end products only.
Mrs Stella Awoh, representative of Yaba College of Technology Fashion School, appealed to BoI and the government to provide support for fashion interns and graduates to set up their businesses as the college churns out about 450 graduates annually, who mostly end up roaming the streets because they had no funds to establish.