Insecurity a major challenge to SMEs – official

The Plateau chapter of the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialist (NASSI), says that insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria has constituted a major challenge to the growth of small industries.

Its Chairman, Stephen Gondli, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday in Jos that members were being distracted from concentrating, while some could not access basic raw materials.

“Right now, we have many members that cannot access raw materials for the production of cassava flour because of the lingering violence in southern Kadunna.

“We also have goods that cannot reach the markets because 0f the violence,” he said.

He regretted that the fortunes of the SMEs had dwindled as result of the insurgencies, and urged those concerned to “do something urgent” to restore normalcy.

“Unless something urgent is done to restore normalcy, so many SMEs will collapse,” he said.

The chairman said that “about 90 percent” of the entrepreneurs on the Plateau were not getting any support, either from financial institution or the government.

“We depend solely on our efforts and have to move from one point to the other, but people are now afraid of traveling around the north.

“Customers from other parts of the country are also afraid of doing businesses with those in the north because violence sparks up very easily, making the situation very scary and unpredictable.