Segun Arinze, D’banj, Noble Igwe attend Access Bank’s Interactive Forum to support CBN’s Financial Initiative

Access Bank Plc. has yet again proven its commitment to support the growth of the creative sector, by organizing a 2-day interactive forum to promote and provide adequate support for the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) loans, developed by the CBN, in collaboration with the Banker’s committee.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) initiative, CIFI, focuses on four sectors in the Creative industry namely, movies, music, fashion, and information technology.  The loans have a maximum interest rate of 9% per annum and a repayment period of up to 10 years and was set up to develop the sectors by boosting jobs, increasing capacity, encouraging entrepreneurship and revenue generation for the country. The first tranche of the CIFI facility has over N20bn set aside to be disbursed.

The forum named the Access Bank Creative Loan forum took place on  July 2nd & 3rd 2019 at the Access Bank headquarters in Lagos, Victoria Island. Each day of the forum held two interaction panel sessions.

The first day had movies and music while the second day had IT and fashion sessions. All sessions were attended by industry leaders, stakeholders within the creative sectors and experts such as legal, finance and business consulting. Also, present were Access Bank representatives who were available to educate all on the CIFI loan facility, the eligibility criteria and the process for obtaining the loan.

It was further revealed during the Forum that the CIFI facility loan will also aid in the development of infrastructure (Entertainment City) which include cinemas, large capacity auditoriums, and shared fashion facilities. The Entertainment city will help improve the creative industry by creating jobs and also will become a center where creative skills can be developed, displayed and revenues generated. This will help to further contribute to the country’s GDP.

At the forum was Chizoma Okoli, Executive Director, Business Banking of Access Bank Plc. who explained that the loans will create jobs within the creative industry, as the forum was arranged to walk customers through the process of accessing the loans.

“CBN’s Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) was developed to support the creative sector and enable the sector to create more jobs. Access Bank understands the necessary documentation needed to access this loan and that is why this forum has been put together to simplify and guide you, our guests and customers through the process“, She reiterated during the forum.

Also, in attendance at the forum were prominent stakeholders in the creative space namely; Ralph Nwadike, the President of the Movie Producers of Nigeria, Funmi Ladipo, President of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria, veteran actors Segun Arinze and Hilda Dokubo, Chinenye Mba -Uzoukwu, the former General Manager (Anglophone West Africa) Microsoft, (who is now the Managing Partner of Grand Central), music star D’banj, Noble Igwe, a prominent face in the fashion industry and a host of other key talents.

So, if you play in the creative arena, have big ideas that can attract talent and create more jobs, Access bank is ready to assist you to access the CIFI loan, while at the same time supporting you with the necessary capacity building needed to help you actualize your dreams.

To learn more about the Creative Sector Loans, visit here 

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