Experts in small and medium business management have said efficient funding mechanism, availability of critical infrastructure and strong institutions are keys to developing micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria.
They say paying particular attention to these three elements is critical as MSMEs make up over 80 percent of businesses in the country currently. They unanimously agree that power availability, cheap and single-digit funding, good road network and better laws have the capacity to spur MSMEs the way they do Asian and European economies.
“To develop the MSME sector requires strong and supportive institutions and holistic infrastructural development as well as key and impactful sectorial intervention by Nigerian financial system, as a deliberate effort towards addressing the many years of neglect of the sector,” said Garba Ibrahim Gusau, president and chairman of council of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), during its general meeting held in Lagos.
He challenged all candidates for the 2015 elections to present their programmes and policies for the MSMEs, saying that development of the segment should be in the front burner of political discourse now, calling on state governments in the country to access the N2 billion each given to them for the development of the MSME sector in their states.
Financial access promotes growth for enterprises through the provision of credit to both and existing businesses, Tokunbo Afolabi of Bank of Agriculture Limited, Agege, Lagos, said.
According to Afolabi, the bank, in recognising the challenge posed by finance access, has a range of loans facilities that could be explored by agro-business entrepreneurs. She outlined these available facilities as Agricultural Micro Loans, Non-Agricultural Micro Loans, SME Loans, Cooperative and Farmers Group Loans, On-Lending Loans, among others.
The bank has Youths Agribusiness Revolution in Nigeria (YARN), a product aimed at supporting the government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and complementing the efforts of Youths Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria Scheme (YouWIN), she said.
Isaiah Ndukwe, who represented Nnamdi Okonkwo, managing director/CEO, Fidelity Bank, said the bank was looking for MSME operators who will take advantage of the current devaluation of the naira to export.
Glo, one of the leading telecoms, also said companies also can achieve productivity improvements by introducing a telecommunication feature known as presence. The telecoms firm said telecommunications can lead to good business growth trajectory, ensure spread, safeguard business and connection with customers. The firm proposed voice and data solutions, mobile applications, international roaming, enterprise solutions and value-added services for MSMEs in the country.
ODINAKA ANUDU
