The Minister of Trade and Industry has lauded the Northern Province for fast-tracking the Access to Finance programme, which has enabled many small and medium enterprises to get start-up capital.Officiating at the Access to Finance forum organised by Northern Province in Musanze, Minister Francois Kanimba noted that 38 projects have so far been approved for funding by different commercial banks in the province. "While it’s true that each district has an access to finance programme, the Northern Province has proved to be ahead of other provinces,” Kanimba observed. The forum attracted representatives from government, NGOs, Civil Society Organisations and the private sector in the province. Its aim was to evaluate progress and consolidate interventions for complementary interaction. Provincial Governor Aime Bosenibamwe observed that development can never be attained without access to credit facilities. He challenged district mayors to encourage the population to seek finance for investment.District officials in charge of economic affairs who oversee development activities in their districts however expressed disappointment over delays by financial institutions to provide feedback on loan requests."Sometimes, when you look at reasons given by banks as to why they are not offering loans, you find them wanting. They claim the product is not marketable yet the study and the field experience agree that a product is marketable,” explained Odette Basangiza, the vice mayor in charge of economic affairs in Gakenke District. She cited Banque Populaire of Rwanda which declined to fund a pineapple and passion fruits project, whose products had a ready market in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on grounds that they were not marketable. The risk manager at the Musanze branch of Banque Populaire Rwanda, Charles Nsanzabandi however argued that the Central Bank had restricted the loaning capacity of financial institutions as they had overshot their credit ceiling. He said every time they have to offer credit, they have to seek Central Bank’s approval. "I request leaders to accept the explanations we give them instead of tarnishing the good name of the bank. We give feedback and even in writing. Whenever we have to give a loan, the central bank has to first approve, as we are on the red line of our loaning ceiling,” Nsanzabandi, who represented Bank Populaire at the forum explained. Central Bank Governor, Claver Gatete, however refuted the claims, saying while it is true that banks are monitored and controlled to avoid exceeding their capacity to offer credit; the ongoing loaning capacity depends on how much finances they receive at a particular period. "It’s not true that every time the banks cross the red line, they have to seek our permission to give a loan. There is a known target, there is a known level and we deal with their headquarters. So if there is an increase in collection, the bank knows because levels are known. The problem is communication. Let people know you are not able in time,” Gatete said. Kanimba urged members of the Hang’umurimo programme to seek loans from other banks, wondering why almost everyone opts for Bank de Kigali thereby causing a backlog of applications.  The minister said the limit for members of the programme to access to finance was 20 projects per district complemented by Business Development Fund (BDF), which offers 75 percent of the required collateral. He further urged commercial banks and other financial institutions not to delay applicants, wondering how 54 projects could have submitted applications between March and April yet they had not obtained any feedback by December. Kanimba revealed that in two weeks, each district will have a business consultant to help the population to come up and manage projects more efficiently. Testimonies from Hanga Umurimo beneficiaries however indicated that some had beaten the odds and accessed bank loans. Jean Crysostome Nteziryayo from Rulindo District obtained a loan worth Rwf25m from FINA Bank to expand his milling machine assembly plant.  The trade and industry ministry is targeting to establish 12, 000 projects by June 2013 and create 200,000 jobs, mainly through the Hang’umurimo, a job creation initiative.