Ogun releases N25m as loan to cooperative societies

The Ogun State Government has said it has released the sum of N25m as revolving loan to cooperative societies in the state.

It said that the lifeline to the societies was part of efforts aimed at promoting the growth of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises.

The Commissioner for Community Development and Cooperatives, Mr. Samuel Aiyedogbon, said this at the University of Ibadan’s Business Circle lunch event/workshop organised by the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

Aiyedogbon said the state government had equally promised to raise the revolving loan to the cooperative societies to N50m if it received good reports on the repayment of the N25m earlier disbursed.

The commissioner also said there had been an increase in the continuous registration of cooperative societies in the same line of business, which were aiming to benefit from the Bank of Industry’s N10bn loan facility.

Aiyedogbon said giving loans to qualified registered cooperative societies would promote the growth of small and medium enterprises as well as enhance entrepreneurship development.

He commended the organisers of the workshop, stating that the government was confident that the event would pave the way for networking amongst relevant stakeholders.

“I have no doubt in my mind that through this interactive session and networking event among the relevant stakeholders, more sustainable small and medium enterprises would emerge and Ogun State will be better for it,” he said.

The Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Ibadan, Prof. Gbemi Oke, attributed the inability of many business organisations to survive and thrive to lack of managerial skills.

Oke, however, said the centre had positioned itself to address this problem and promote managerial skills and knowledge.

She added that part of the efforts of the centre towards ensuring that businesses survived in the country was its resolve to contribute to the sustenance of entrepreneurship through training and capacity building.