The Consumer Credit Scheme of the Federal Government will take off with a target of N180 trillion available as loans to the beneficiaries, the agency in charge said at the weekend.
The Consumer Credit Corporation (CreditCorp) plans a take-off with 500,000 beneficiaries by the end of next year.
Already, two million Nigerians have enrolled through the agency’s website.
No fewer than 80 million have been identified by the agency as qualified for the scheme.
This is part of key major campaign promises of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, along with the student loan scheme, which is also due to begin in September.
The CreditCorp, established by the government, is to strengthen the country’s credit infrastructure and provide financial guarantees to institutions that have traditionally been hesitant to lend due to concerns about potential losses.
“The financial system, the people who already do lending today, are the ones who have the capital,” Nwagba said.
“Our first job is to strengthen the credit infrastructure of the country.”
The CreditCorp has identified approximately 80 million Nigerians as the target beneficiaries of this consumer credit initiative, with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) playing a crucial role as a partner.
“The CBN is a strong partner in this journey with us as well as the credit registry and credit bureaus,” Nwagba said.
While the financial institutions will be responsible for disbursing the credits, CreditCorp’s role is to enable them to lend more by either providing capital in bulk or offering guarantees.