The Bank of Industry and the Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, has launched about fifty million Dollars to aid NOGAPS Manufacturing Product Line.
The money was targeted at providing companies with incentives to operate within the Oil and Gas parks in the country and be able to manufacture components of equipment used in linkages and Oil and Gas sectors.
Engineer Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, stated that the fund would help companies that would run on Oil and Gas parks constructed in Cross Rivers and Bayelsa States by the board.
Simbi re-emphasized that the money could merely be accessible to firms that occupied the space within the park for equipment procurement or whose factories were within the park.
He further clarified that the launched manufacturing fund was different from the preliminary sum of three hundred million Dollars being managed by BOI which was targeted at helping businesses in the country that were making their one percent contribution to the Nigerian Content Development Fund.
Simbi added that the new funding would be an independent product line with different fund administration and eligibility parameters, and collateral structure.
”The decision of the Board to establish the product was informed by the peculiarities of the manufacturing sector, which include infrastructure challenges, long gestation, long lead time before returns, low margins on products, and high risk attached to the endeavor, in addition to the reluctance of commercial banks to lend to the sector and application of stiff collateral and eligibility criteria where loans are extended.”
Speaking about the parameters for accessing the funds, Simbi pointed out that unlike the Nigerian Content Intervention Funds which required firms to be contributors prior to benefiting from it, the NOGAPS fund could be given to companies that would be located in and would manufacture their products within the parks.
According to him “The Fund will provide loans to Nigerian companies that meets the criteria to operate in any of the designated NOGAPS Industrial Park for the purpose of financing manufacturing activities, purchase of fixed assets, working capitals and logistic.
“Beneficiaries will get a maximum single obligor of $3m and minimum of single obligor of $250,000.00 with one year moratorium repayable within five years at five percent interest per annum.”
Speaking on the advantages of doing business in the parks, the Secretary stated that accommodation rate was reduced, power supply was guaranteed, adding that the rent would merely start counting when the company commenced manufacturing.
He further noted that the fund would also help in promotion of in-country production as well as employment creation.
“The interest rates are very good just like the initial fund which is less than ten percent and the same thing will apply to this one.
“All we are looking for are Nigerians who want to manufacture in Nigeria.”
Simbi called on companies in the country to seize the opportunity and take up a space in the park to commence local manufacturing.
