, and the nigeria incentive - based risk - sharing system for agricultural lending ( nirsal ). our interventions have positively impacted the economy as evidenced by the percentage of bank lending to agriculture as a proportion of total lending, which has increased from 1. 4 per cent in 2009 to 4 per cent as at june, 2013. as of june 2013, the full amount of the bis central bankers ’ speeches cacs fund has been disbursed to 292 projects along the agricultural value chain. out of the total number of projects financed, 48 per cent and 41 per cent were for production and processing activities respectively. average capacity utilization of projects financed by cacs increased from 45 per cent in 2009 to about 75 per cent as at june 2013. 9. your excellences, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in addition to the above, the cbn is presenting for launch today the n220billion micro, small and medium enterprises development fund ( msmedf ). the fund is designed to further enhance access to finance by msmes with the following major objectives : ( i ) provide wholesale financing windows for participating financial institutions ( pfis ) ; ( ii ) improve the capacity of the pfis to meet credit needs of msmes ; ( iii ) provide funds at reduced cost to pfis ; ( iv ) enhance access of women entrepreneurs to finance by allocating 60 per cent of the fund to them ; and ( v ) improve access of ngos / mfis to finance. 10. permit me, ladies and gentlemen, to further state that these interventions are specific in scope and time and should be seen as stimulus for addressing financing gaps aimed at stirring the market dynamics towards msme development. the ultimate responsibility for sustainable intermediation for the subsector lies with the financial markets. moreover, these interventions serve to integrate the micro - entrepreneurs, the low - income earners, farmers, artisans and the active poor who operate in the informal sector, into the financial system to improve the effectiveness of public policy. 11. i wish to seize this opportunity to specially thank your excellences, senior government officials, members of diplomatic corps that have found time to attend this important event. 12. on this note, i hereby launch the n220 billion micro, small and medium enterprises development fund ( msmedf ). 13. i wish you all fruitful deliberations. i thank you all. bis central bankers ’ speeches

##notes in 2007. these lower denomination notes were eventually converted into polymer banknotes in 2009. as a first step towards this routine exercise, the cbn carried out a review of the existing currency series in 2010. the exercise threw up several revelations and challenges such as the following : • public apathy towards the usage of the 50k, n1 and n2 coins, introduced in february, 2007. bis central bankers ’ speeches • the varnished lower denomination banknotes failed to adequately meet expected longevity. • significant difficulties associated with the processing and destruction ( briquetting ) of the polymer banknotes. it is important to add that this situation has largely constrained the realisation of the benefits expected from polymer banknotes over paper notes. • the tactile feature for the visually impaired on the polymer notes has not been as effective as desired. in the light of the observed challenges, the cbn conducted several stakeholders ’ fora in 2011 on currency restructuring to gauge public and independent perspectives on the existing banknotes and coin series. the issues raised and the subsequent findings and decisions were summarised as follows : • due to inflationary pressures, the cbn should coin lower denominations of currency up to n100. the relevant denominations in this category are n5, n10, n20, n50 and n100 ; • need to encourage the usage of coins ; and • enhancement of the quality of banknotes. • the cbn should introduce higher denomination banknotes to discourage dollarization, reduce the volume of banknotes as well as the overall cost of currency management. gentlemen of the press, we are now about to embark on another comprehensive review of our national currency structure. the impending review exercise is aimed at achieving the following objectives : ( i ) upgrading the design of the entire existing range of currency denominations in order to enhance the quality and integrity of the banknotes ; ( ii ) incorporating a more effective feature for the visually challenged ; ( iii ) introducing new security features on the redesigned banknotes. the intention here is to enable us take ownership and control of the new features on the series and eliminate payment of royalties on patented security features ; ( iv ) achieving an optimal currency structure that will ensure cost effectiveness and balanced mix and utilization of all the currency denominations ; ( v ) introducing new series of coins that would be generally acceptable for purposes of transaction ; and ( vi ) reducing the cost of production, distribution and disposal of banknotes by introducing a higher bill that would reduce the volume and cost of notes in circulation. the