Victims of crisis and attacks in Plateau state for the past decade will soon have the opportunity to access soft loans without collateral to start-up small businesses courtesy of Gracefiled Micro Finance Bank in Jos.

Mr Jong Gang Long who is the Managing Director of the Bank spoke to journalists in Jos and said that the security challenge that has bedevilled the state in the past decade has made life unbearable for victims who lost their source of livelihoods. He said that it has also affected the economy of the state and Middle Belt region in general.

Victims of crisis and attacks in Plateau state for the past decade will soon have the opportunity to access soft loans without collateral to start-up small businesses courtesy of Gracefiled Micro Finance Bank in Jos.

Mr Jong Gang Long who is the Managing Director of the Bank spoke to journalists in Jos and said that the security challenge that has bedevilled the state in the past decade has made life unbearable for victims who lost their source of livelihoods. He said that it has also affected the economy of the state and Middle Belt region in general.

He said that the facility will be extended to everyone regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender while giving the assurance that people with unquestionable character and honesty will not be denied the facility. Long commended President Goodluck Jonathan who in collaboration Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) substituted micro finance banks with Community banks.

He said “There is a wide gap in terms of financial service delivery to the active economically poor and micro entrepreneurs and that inform the decision of the Federal Government to revertalise the former communities Banks to micro finance banks to close the gap in providing financial services, you will discover that in commercial banks, majority of petty traders don’t have access to financial services and government felt that if that gap must be covered, they have to establish micro finance banks to take care of the low income earners, the micro entrepreneurs and the economically active poor.

“The economically active poor are those people who sell, tomatoes, onions, vegetables etc and you discover that these are the people that need to be empower and they can be empower through micro finance banks because of the nature of the facilities that they can access, those facilities are tailored towards helping them to grow their businesses, to become micro entrepreneurs.”

The Managing Director called on petty traders within Jos and environs to save with Gracefiled Micro Finance bank based in Bukuru, Jos so as to enable them access the facilities. He assured customers that their deposits were highly secured as the bank was duly registered and monitored by Nigeria Depositors Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

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Victims of crisis in Plateau to get soft loans without collateral