SMoH, PATHS2 rally support for private sector
Apparently in support of universal health coverage in Nigeria, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has introduced a loan service scheme for private healthcare providers in Lagos State.
The special scheme for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the health sector will attract loans ranging from N10m to N500m at 10 per cent interest rate.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Ministry of Health (SMoH) and Partnership for Transforming Health Systems II (PATHS2) have called for improved support for the private health sector to enhance wider coverage of quality health services nationwide.
Managing Director of BoI, Rasheed Olaoluwa, at the Health Sector SME Forum, organised by SMoH and PATHS2 in Lagos, said the lending bank recognises the strategic role that the health sector plays in national development, particularly the private providers, adding that the health providers had been added to a cluster of SMEs that are eligible to BoI’s financial support.
Besides healthcare taking a centre stage in socio-economic development matters, Olaoluwa said, the quality of health service on offer in a country remains one of the 12 development rating indices.
He said it is therefore on this basis that private hospitals, laboratories and medical diagnostic facilities in the health sector would now be eligible to BoI’s financial services, in addition to existing support to eight pharmaceutical companies in the country
The MD added that it was imperative for loan applicants to have a business model, with clear understanding of what services to provide, target population and how the business will make profit.
He said: “These are very important because as a lender, before we give out loans, we have to be sure that the business can generate sufficient output to pay back the loan.
The issues of collateral, legal mortgage and bank guarantee and so on are secondary. The primary source of repayment must really attract us,” he said.
Olaoluwa added that quality of the managing team and commitment of the owner are also important to the business plan and proposal.
