Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, said arrangements had been concluded to set up a Microfinance Bank to aid artisans and small business operators. Ambode disclosed this while answering questions from the business community at the 5th edition of the Lagos Corporate Assembly tagged “A-plus meets business” held at the Lagos House Banquet Hall, Alausa.
“We have met with the CBN governor and we believe we should set up a micro-finance bank quickly and get our license running to help the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) and artisans,” he said.
Ambode said that the bank would be lending to the sector at three per cent rate. The governor said he was passionate about locally produced goods, explaining that the Employment Trust Fund established by his administration and the Micro-finance Bank would boost the state economy and reduce unemployment.
He said that the goal of the state government was to improve the ease of doing business. Ambode assured the sector of his administration commitment to maintain a business-friendly environment.
The governor added that his administration would ensure that the state enjoy a 24-hour uninterrupted power supply by 2017. He said that plans were in advanced stages to ensure that this became a reality for Lagosians.
He restated his administration commitment to ensure that the Blue Line of the light rail project is up and running by December 2016.He reiterated the fact that his administration would not relent in its efforts taking the state to enviable heights.
While noting that the issue of power was always in the front burner, Governor Ambode said between now and 2017, he had an agenda to create clusters of Independent Power Projects (IPPs) across the state in order to improve on power generation and ensure 24-hour power supply in Lagos.
Regarding the light rail project, he debunked claims that work had stopped on the first phase of the project connecting Mile 2 to CMS, saying the allegation was totally untrue.