The CBN in collaboration with Bankers Committee offers loan to creative sector

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, has outlined how to get the creative sector loans.

Both parties developed a Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) as part of efforts to boost job creation in Nigeria, particularly among youths in the country. The initiative has four pillars which include Fashion, Information Technology, Movie, and Music.

It would be recalled that last year, the CBN in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee unveiled the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), which was to enable businesses to obtain loans up to the tune of N500 million.

Interested applicants in the creative industry are advised to submit their applications to their banks for approval and subsequent disbursement.

How to benefit from the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI): The categories of businesses to benefit from this include Fashion, Information Technology, Movie Production, Movie Distribution, Music and Software Engineering Student Loan.

Part of the steps in applying for the loan is to prepare your business plan or statement on how much you want for your business.

You can get a loan of up to:

• ·        N3 million for a Software Engineering Student
• ·        N30 million for a Movie Production business
• ·        N500 million for a Movie Distribution business
• ·        Cover your rental/service fees for Fashion and Information Technology businesses
• ·        Cover your training fees, equipment fees and rental/service fees for the Music business

After preparation of the business plan stating how much is needed for the business, applicants are advised to go to any bank of their choice to apply for the loan.

The bank will then discuss, analyze your request, and if successful will disburse the funds. It must be noted that the maximum interest rate of 9% per annum (all charges inclusive) is applicable to all loans.

The period for the repayment of the loan in the different categories are:

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• ·        For Software Engineering Student Loan, it is a maximum of 3 years
• ·        For Movie Production and Distribution, it is a maximum of 10 years
• ·        For Fashion, Information Technology (IT) and Music, it is a maximum of 10 years.

For more information, you can visit www.cbn.gov.ng