NLNG signs N375m deal with Zenith, First Bank

Nigeria Lique- fied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) on Wednesday in Lagos signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Zenith Bank, First Bank, Growing Business Foundation of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the funding and management of the company’s N375 million scale-up -phase micro-credit fund for its host communities.

The company had in 2002, launched a N500 million micro-credit scheme as one of its integrated community development programmes for its host communities.

The pilot phase of the scheme ended in August 2006 with loans to the value of N125 million given to the beneficiary cooperative societies at a recovery rate of 78 per cent. NLNG said that in the pilot phase, over 600 participants were trained in business development, micro-enterprise initiation, value adding services and cooperative societies management.

The company stated that post-impact survey of the pilot phase revelaed that the scheme had created direct employment for over 391 persons and indirect employment and engagements for over 500 households.

The Managing Director of NLNG Limited., Mr. Chris Haynes, said that the scale up phase of the programme was designed to fill the gaps of restricted access to investment finance, limited capacity building and linkage to financial institutions which continue to impede the growth of micro-enterprises.

“The scale up phase, redesigned as a demand driven programme, is designed to service the needs of the different clientele--the high and the low,” he added.