Experts say the federal government will need to support small and medium businesses to produce personal protective equipment (PPES) for hospitals as it is done in many countries at the moment.
“SMES should be mobilised to produce the PPES for the hospitals and the general public rather than import them from China,” Friday Opara, director of strategic partnership at the Small and Medium Enterprises Developmewnt Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said.
“They have the capacity and capability to produce according to specifications and standards,” Opara further said.
Coronavirus has infected over two million people across the world and killed more than 140,000 persons. Nigeria has seen over 10 deaths and 400 infections since the index case in February.
Opara said the present situation is not good for small businesses and urged the government to support this class of business.
“The government should do something to help the small businesses in this pandemic, considering their contribution to Gross Domestic Product and to employment,” he said.
MSMES contribute 50 percent to Nigeria’s GDP and accounts for 86.3 percent of jobs (59.6million jobs in 2017), according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the SMEDAN.
“To many of the small businesses, daily cash flow is their lifeblood. Now, they are confined to their homes and they are not in business due to the lockdown,” he further said.
He advocated for the provision of facilities for small businesses, including equipment and funding to aid the PPE production.
Millions of workers will not return to their jobs after the pandemic, with unemployment peaking at 23 percent before the pandemic. The World Bank said in a 2015 report that 40 to 50 million additional jobs were needed in Nigeria between then and 2030 to reduce poverty and boost inclusive growth.
Many MSMES will be stressed by the time the coronavirus is over.
Ike Ibeabuchi, chief executive of a small-scale manufacturing outfit in Enugu and Abuja, said the year is lost for many small and medium businesses, urging the government to aupport MSMES to enable them to produce face masks, PPES and other materials needed for the control of coronavirus spread.
“Even after the pandemic and lockdowns, the consumers will be so poor that they can’t buy, and firms won’t be able to raise prices, even though the situation warrants that, he said.
