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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has successfully disbursed over N2.5 billion under its student loan scheme to significantly ease the financial burdens for students across the country.
NELFund’s media Head, Nasir Ayitogo, announced on Friday that the fund has disbursed N2,530,235,750 to the students.
The amount covers institutional fees and monthly stipends for 22,120 students, benefiting six institutions with active academic calendars.
He said an additional six institutions were set to receive payments in the coming week.
Ayitogo highlighted that a total of N442,400,000 has been allocated as upkeep allowances for applicants in July alone.
“NELFund believes that these disbursements will significantly ease the financial burdens on students and their families, enabling them to focus on their studies and future careers,” he stated.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the student loan policy, initially enacted by Tinubu in June 2023, aimed to provide interest-free loans to students.
Though the scheme was set to commence in October 2023, its implementation faced delays until April 2024.
NELFund launched its loan application portal on May 24, starting with a pilot phase for federal tertiary institutions.
The scheme was expand to state-owned tertiary institutions in its second phase.
As of mid-July, over 110,000 applications had been submitted, and more than 160,000 students registered on the NELFund portal, demonstrating the high demand and need for financial support.
Access Bank has granted 18 million digital loans worth N740 billion, where customers can access up to N10 million instantly in the last six years.
This is as the bank restated its commitment towards financial inclusion and meeting the needs of its retail customers by revamping its digital loan platform ‘Quickbucks’ to boost lending.
The bank stated this in its media roundtable/interview held yesterday in Lagos. The Group head, Consumer Banking of Access Bank, Njideka Esomeju said, “many Nigerians are facing financial challenges due to the economic situation in the country. At Access Bank, our goal is to enable every Nigerian to achieve financial freedom, which is why we introduced digital lending solutions.
“Since 2017, when we issued our first digital PayDay loan, we have granted 18 million digital loans worth over N740 billion, where customers can access up to N10 million instantly.”
She added that “customers can access our digital loans for businesses, vehicle financing, school fees payment, among others. QuickBucks Loans allow our customers to get that assistance fast and easily.”
Esomeju stated that QuickBucks Loans will launch a new version of the platform, with features like improved credit scoring algorithms; more loan options, including a digital asset and vehicle financing digital loans; and strategic partnerships to improve its services and satisfy changing customer needs.
She also noted that “at first, our digital loans were only for salary earners who had to pay back in 30 days, but now we have QuickBucks Loans with up to 12 months of repayment time for customers who have salary accounts with us or other banks, self-employed and active account holders, and also our business account and trader account holders.”
The unit head, digital lending of Access Bank, Efe Obaigbena noted that, “QuickBucks Loans are designed to meet our customers’ urgent financial needs. Since its launch in 2017, QuickBucks Loans have improved significantly, and as a responsible lender, we make sure that our customers do not get into debt trouble, which is why we cap our loans at a certain percentage of salary or account transactions. Customers must also have good credit records across all financial institutions to be eligible for our loans.”
Obaigbena added that, “QuickBucks Loans are designed to be easy to access, where customers who have low literacy can get our digital loans through USSD, helping them join the financial system by offering them digital loans even if they have different levels of financial knowledge.”
Also, the team lead, digital lending of Access Bank, Mr. Oladisun Dawodu explained that Access Bank has always adopted the FinTech culture as a way to stand out in the market, saying, “the Bank foresees future developments in FinTech such as AI-based lending solutions, blockchain technology for safe transactions, and closer integration with financial ecosystems.
“Access Bank has prepared QuickBucks Loans to respond to these developments by putting money into technology improvements and strategic actions to keep its competitive advantage in the market.”
The Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP) has disbursed the sum of N32,600,000 to traders of Kwara origin living in Lagos State, whose businesses were affected by the recent inferno at the popular Dosumu Market.
At the presentation of a symbolic cheque held at the KWASSIP office in Ilorin, the state capital, KWASSIP general manager, Dr Abdulwasiu Tejidini, said Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq commiserated with the victims over the incident.
Victims Of Dosunmu Market Fire Will Get Govt Assistance – Bode George
Tejidini reiterated the governor’s continued support to all Kwarans at all times.
“Today, we presenting a cheque of Thirty two million, six hundred thousand naira to the Kwara indigenes living in Lagos State, over the recent Dosumu Market inferno that affected their businesses. This is a testament to Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s priority to welfare of all Kwarans across board, regardless of their locations,” he said.
“The Governor will continue to do everything within his capacity to ensure that every Kwaran is adequately carried along in his administration,” he added.
While receiving the cheque from KWASSIP boss, the chairman of the committee set up to receive the fund, Mallam Abdulganiyu Sebutu, expressed delight over the huge financial support for the affected members, describing it as an unprecedented magnanimity.
He said the governor has indeed demonstrated to be the father of not only the Kwarans at home, but also those living abroad.