TraderMoni is a loan programme of the Federal Government, created specifically for petty traders and artisans across Nigeria. It is a part of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) scheme of the Federal Government, being executed by the Bank of Industry. With TraderMoni, you can receive interest-free loans starting from N10,000 and growing all the way to N100,000 as you pay back. You get N10,000 as the first loan. When you pay back the first loan, you immediately qualify for a second loan of N15,000. After payback of the second loan, you qualify for a N20,000 loan, and then N50,000, and then N100,000. With TraderMoni, the Federal Government wants to change your level by providing continuous loans for your petty business, making each loan bigger to enable you to grow.
The Impact stories
Launched on the 7th of August 2018, TraderMoni is a Federal Government microfinance-lending scheme aimed at increasing financial inclusion and empowering low-income traders in Nigeria. The primary of poverty alleviation among these petty traders is achieved by servicing their micro enterprises with interest free progressive loans ranging between 10,000 and 100,000 naira depending on repayment rate. The scheme which has been launched in all the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT is set to intensely advance the nation�s most populated economy.
The initiative which is a sub-scheme of the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is designed to empower two million petty traders and artisans in the first phase of the programme. These beneficiaries are people who have businesses such as groundnut trading, selling of local junks like roasted plantain & boiled corn or dry-cleaning that can be significantly boosted with N10,000. These loans are collateral and interest free loans for which beneficiaries do not require PVCs (Permanent Voters Card).
The impact stories that have been harvested from many of these beneficiaries are more than a pointer to how significant the N10, 000 is to the lower class of the country�s populace. It tells much about the potential impact of this micro-credit facility on the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria. This huge impact of the first stage of this loan on businesses has influenced high repayment, being the criteria for the next loan of N15,000.
Mr Edwards Agu, a knife grinder in the Meat market, Ebonyi state was on the verge of seeing his business fold up. Prior to his encounter with TraderMoni, his sharpening machines had packed up and he was left with just one that earned him the little income he managed to survive on. With the loan he got, he has been able to repair two of the machines which has tripled his income.
The expressions of gratitude by these beneficiaries, often time in tears, is indicative of a huge socio-economic revolution among Nigerians at the base of the economic pyramid.
