. small countries have no choice but to respect market realities. they have to accept exchange rate flexibility even if, in the short run, some exchange rate development might interfere with the interests of their export sector. if they were to complement inflation targets with specific exchange rate objectives, they would create market confusion and destabilise expectations. the implementation of a clear and coherent monetary strategy is of the essence. in my view, smallness in combination with monetary independence and flexible exchange rates is a strength rather than a weakness. for us, being able to set our own monetary policy has meant that we could react to country - specific shocks. had we joined the euro area, we would not have had this flexibility. furthermore, monetary independence is attractive for small open economies, because policymakers can concentrate on national data when setting interest rates. in a monetary union, data from different countries have to be combined. also, the decision process in the union is more complicated, since there are diverging interests to be reconciled. as a consequence, monetary policy is more inertial than in a small open economy with a currency of its own. looking at our development over the last ten years, i do believe that price stability, due to monetary independence and flexible exchange rates, has been beneficial to the swiss economy. it has maintained a low interest rate environment which has facilitated the private sector's adjustment to the rapid changes of the world economy. and what about israel? i think that the arguments in favour of switzerland's monetary independence apply even more to this country. while we at the snb concentrate primarily on domestic developments and trends in the euro area, the bank of israel also has to take into account economic conditions in the us. thus, there are three major sources of shocks that israeli monetary policy has to respond to in order to achieve the goal of price stability. despite difficult circumstances, israel was able to stabilise its monetary framework in the 1990s. the bank of israel now operates with an inflation target and will soon benefit from a new law that will modernise its decision - making process and strengthen its autonomy. all the necessary ingredients are now in place for the implementation of a successful independent policy in this country, as was once also the case in switzerland. may i wish stanley fisher and his colleagues all the best in this endeavour.

businesses. 8. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me state that the scheme was designed to address three ( 3 ) verticals of the segment, and these are : i. the term loan component – provides direct credit opportunities to graduates of nigerian polytechnics and universities of not more than seven years post - graduation. an applicant, if successful, shall be eligible for a maximum of [UNK] million for an individual, sole - proprietorship or small company ; and a maximum of [UNK] million for a partnership or company. the tenor for the facility is maximum of five ( 5 ) years, with a oneyear moratorium, and at an interest of 5 per cent per annum, which shall revert to 9 per cent from march 2022. the pilot phase of the scheme is presently being implemented through the bank of industry ( boi ) with the development of an application portal and processing of submitted applications. ii. the equity investment component – is designed to support start - ups, existing businesses requiring expansion, and ailing businesses seeking resuscitation. the component shall be implemented under the bank ’ s agsmeis equity window. thus, the investment limit shall be subject to the limit prescribed by the agsmeis guidelines and the investment period not more than ten years. iii. the developmental grant component – is aimed at raising awareness and visibility of entrepreneurship undergraduates institutions. of here, nigerian among tertiary polytechnics and universities in nigeria shall compete in a national biennial entrepreneurship competition where undergraduates are presented by the tertiary institutions to pitch innovative entrepreneurial or technological ideas with transformational potential. three ( 3 ) top institutions at the regional levels shall proceed to the national level, where the top five ( 5 ) shall be awarded grants ranging between [UNK] million and [UNK] million. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is instructive to note that grant awards shall be used by the tertiary institutions solely for the development of the awardwilling ideas. 9. at this juncture, i wish to express my sincere gratitude to the body of experts ( boe ) comprising professionals of impeccable standing, drawn from the academia, professional bodies, and industry. the body has been constituted to evaluate and rank entrepreneurial presentations made by the tertiary institutions under the developmental ( grant ) component. more importantly, the boe shall recommend projects with high potential and transformational impact for grant awards. 10. the body of experts is to be inaugurated later today and they are : i. chairman - mr. abubakar suleiman ( sterling