Nigerian SMEs decry inadequate credit scheme for business growth

Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country have identified the lack of adequate credit scheme as a major challenge of the sector as they clamoured for more recognition of their support and contribution to nation building.

They collectively called on government at all tiers to provide an enabling atmosphere that could encourage the sector to operate optimally for economic growth and development.

Speaking on the sideline of the upcoming award ceremony scheduled to hold July 27, 2014, at the Indoor Sports Hall, National Stadium, Emmanuel Excel Ogbeide, an international business development consultant, said there was need to empower the informal sector in the country with the necessary tools, adding that SMEs generally had a huge potential for employment generation and wealth creation in any economy and that if they were duly encouraged, they would help create more jobs thereby reducing the high level of unemployment and consequentially helping to reduce crime rate in the country.

To further promote and work with the above mentioned sector in the country, Ogbeide, president, Business Builders Limited, and a renowned International Trade Development Consultant with over 20 years experience in both private and public sector consulting, identified more than 100 associations of the informal sector, and said his organisation was ready to partner financial institutions, media, government agencies and trade support institutions, local and foreign trade support institutions, trade associations, NGOs, civil societies, religious organisations, foreign organisations and well meaning individuals, to help support this ongoing programmes for SMEs.

He called on all and sundry to come out to encourage and motivate this self-employed group of Nigerians that were creating employment despite the harsh economic environment, saying “come July 27, 2014, at the Indoor Sports Hall, National Stadium, drums of awards will roll out for participants of this first hand occasion.”

According to Ogbeide, micro, small and medium enterprises outnumber large companies by a wide margin and also employ more number of people. SMEs are also responsible for driving innovation and competitions in many economic sectors, even as is seen as veritable and viable engines of economic growth and development.

But in Nigeria, SMEs operation is slow and in some cases stunted due to a prevailing challenge of access to funding/credits.

He added that lack of adequate credit scheme was a major challenge of SMEs. It is so because of the inability of banks to extend credit to the sector due to poor documentation of business/project proposals as well as inadequate collateral by SME operators, cost of packaging appropriate business proposal, poor policy making, multiple taxation, epileptic power supply and inability to employ consultants, among other factors contributing to the business environment in Nigeria, he said.

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE