Lagos State Government has begun a three-day accelerator training workshop aimed at preparing organisations to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) access single-digit loans through the Lagos State Access to Finance for SMEs through Cooperatives (LASMECO) programme.

The workshop, which was organised by the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Sterling Bank Plc., began yesterday at the BoI headquarters in Marina, Lagos.

Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Babatunde Onigbanjo, whose address was delivered by the Director of Administration and Human Resources, Adeniyi Oladipupo, said the programme had moved from planning to implementation following the release of the Lagos State Government’s counterpart funding.

He said the workshop was designed to equip the selected accelerator organisations with the knowledge and practical skills required to recruit, screen, prepare and support SMEs seeking access to finance through the programme.

According to him, participants will be trained in the programme’s objectives, loan processes, beneficiary recruitment, monitoring and reporting, and the cooperative model that underpins LASMECO.

“This workshop is not a lecture series or a ceremonial gathering. It is operational preparation. By the time you leave on the third day, you must be ready to recruit, screen, prepare and submit your first candidates,” he said.

Onigbanjo said every applicant under the programme must belong to a registered cooperative society, describing the cooperative system as central to the success of LASMECO.

He noted that the ministry currently has records of more than 13,000 registered cooperative societies, of which about 1,900 to 2,200 are active, adding that reviving dormant cooperatives presents an opportunity to expand access to finance for small businesses.

He, therefore, warned accelerator organisations against charging applicants unauthorised fees, stressing that there are no application, training or evaluation fees under the programme.

In his keynote address on behalf of the Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, Dr Adeyinka Adeyemi said LASMECO was created to address the financing challenges facing small businesses across the state.

He said that the MSMEs account for about 80 per cent of employment and 75 per cent of Lagos State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), yet many remain unable to access formal credit because of high lending rates and collateral requirements.

According to him, the programme offers loans of up to N10 million at a fixed interest rate of nine per cent yearly through registered cooperative societies, replacing conventional collateral with a cooperative-backed guarantee system.

The commissioner, who stated that MSMEs’ continued participation in the programme would depend on measurable outcomes, including loan repayment, business growth, job creation and compliance with reporting requirements, also disclosed that the ministry was digitising the state’s cooperative registry to improve transparency, monitoring and verification of beneficiaries.