The Owerri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OCCIMA) has urged the Federal Government to direct the Bank of Industry (BoI) to establish a functional office in Imo State.
According to Tony Amadi, pesident of OCCIMA, the office will ensure inclusivity and national development and enable industrialists in Imo State as well as other entrepreneurs in other towns to access the N75 billion intervention fund.
Amadi commended President Bola Tinubu for the release of N75 billion intervention fund for the nation’s entrepreneurs but regretted that lack of BOI office in the state has made access to the intervention fund discouraging to many entrepreneurs, especially those in Imo State.
“As the umbrella body that represents the organised private sector operators in Imo State, OCCIMA welcomes this facility as timely and transformative. Already, our members are being mobilised to apply for this BOI facility and position themselves to expand their operations, create jobs and contribute to the country’s economic growth. However, we are constrained by a critical challenge, which is the absence of a BOI in Imo State”, he said.
According to Amadi, a lot of entrepreneurs will have access to the far-reaching initiative, which provides single digit interest rate, minimal collateral loans ranging from N5 million to N10 million once BOI office is opened in Imo State.
Amadi lamented that business owners are constrained due to the absence of BOI office as many Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are already grappling with high cost of doing business.
“The establishment of a BOI office will lessen burden of entrepreneurs and reduce the cost of doing business because of the single digit interest rate and long tenure of loan facility,” he said.
Amadi, hailed Governor Hope Uzodinma for his sustained infrastructural development and efforts on creating a business friendly environment in the state, noting that with improved road networks and security architecture the state is now more conducive for industrial expansion and commercial property.
While assuring the federal government and management of the BOI that the business in Imo is ready, organised and prepared to productively utilise this intervention fund for job creation, industrial expansion and national economic growth, the OCCIMA boss called on all stakeholders, business associations, development agencies, traditional institutions and the media to join in this advocacy to ensure that no entrepreneur in the state is left behind in the ongoing economic revival across the nation.
