*BANKS, REGULATORY BODIES ENLIGHTEN CORPS MEMBERS ON FUNDING OPTIONS AND REGULATIONS*

The 2021 Batch B Stream 2 Corps Members have been sensitized on the registration and certification of products and funding options available for their various business ideas. 

The sensitisation by banks and regulatory bodies took place on Thursday at the Multipurpose Hall of the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ede. 

The State Coordinator of NAFDAC represented by Mrs Yewande Ajayi in her lecture, spoke about the process of registering products with NAFDAC, urging Corps Members to apply caution when consuming food or drugs. 

 Ajayi enlightened the Members on the procedure involved in registering their products, stressing the necessity of registering their company name with the  Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), as well as registering their trademark. She advised them to seek NAFDAC approval before selling their products, and ended the lecture by urging them to be careful with what they consume.

In a related event, Mr Hassan Abubakar Olalekan from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) spoke about the highly esteemed organisation to be a parastatal of the federal Ministry of Trade and Investment which elaborates standards for product and services through quality assurance. 

Olalekan noted that the activities of SON include: inspection of facilities and products, quality assurance, amongst others. It also assigns product certification mark for certified products which can easily be recognized through the logo on such products. He told Corps Members that they should get their products certified whenever they start a company. As he concluded, he encouraged them to embrace standards as a way of life. 

On funding options, Mr Okeowo Samuel from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) enlightened Corps members on the various funding options available for businesses and enterprises which they can benefit from with a single digit interest rate. 

"Funds are available in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME), health, and infrastructure," he added.

Among the options available to the members, he highlighted the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund, which according to him are for youths within the range of 18 - 35 years, who must possess a valid Bank Verification Number (BVN), as well as a business that is operational in Nigeria. He added that another funding option is the Creative Industry Financial Initiative (CIFI).

According to him, the apex bank in the country works with other financial institutions that implement various plans of the CBN and the Anchor Borrowers Program.

In the same vein, Mrs Toyin Farmo, from the Bank of Industry (BOI) shared experiences of corps members that had benefited from the funding provided by BOI and states one of the benefits to be the low interest rate between 0 - 9%. 

She enlightened them on the Graduate Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) through which they can access loans and grants for their businesses. She informed the corps members of the need to embrace integrity, acquiring soft skills, and enrolling for courses possibly online to will better their chances in the world of business. 

Mrs Toyin encouraged corps members to start small when starting their businesses. "BOI supports and finances small and medium scale enterprise," she added.

Correspondingly, Mr Paul Onigbinde of the Bank of Agriculture, spoke on the funding interventions Corps members can leverage on from the organisation, and exposed them to the loan options available.

While speaking, Onigbinde stated that the BOA provides micro loans to agricultural and non agricultural businesses with categories of funding such as micro loans and Youth Agricultural Revolution in Nigeria. He stated that micro services is up to the tune of #250,000 for individuals or a team of 10 people. He introduced the members to the GKF formular which according to him is an acronym for knowing God the creator of all, getting knowledge and getting fund for their businesses.