No fewer than 170 young business owners in Kwara state have been shortlisted to receive varying non-interest loans under the state government’s Kwapreneurs scheme. The business pitches of the 170 successful applicants, it was gathered, were adjudged viable following rounds of drilling by a panel of experts which assessed some 375 business prospects that turned up for the interview sessions. According to the Acting General Manager KWASSIP, Mohammed Brimah, each of the 170 pitches had been recommended to get between N150, 000 and N3million, a decision said to have been made based on their own proposals and judgment of the interview panel. Businesses selected for the prized loan of N3million would be invited to pitch to another set of judges at the grand finale at a date to be announced soon, he added. The total loans awarded by the panel stand at N101, 450,000 in line with the recommendations of the committee, Brimah said. “While we had targeted to give loans to up to 300 beneficiaries, we made sure to let the process guide us, as our utmost priority was to ensure that deserving business owners and startups that have the capacity to repay got the loans,” he added.