Anayo Agu, special adviser to Enugu State governor on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), has said that the major challenge to the development of small scale enterprises is lack of knowledge and not finance.
Agu, who made this declaration at a workshop with the theme, ‘Market Access’, organised by BusinessDay in conjunction with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said the Enugu SME Centre was poised to encourage small businesses in the state to reposition and make the state one of the best four developed economies in the country and a business hub of the South East.
Agu, who commended the vision of BusinessDay in organising the capacity building workshop for SMEs in the state, noted that the state government’s SME Centre gave out N500 million loan to 1,600 people last year, saying that 95 percent of them has started repaying the loan.
Emeka Okereke, director general, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), said knowledge and ideas rule the world, noting that business does not start and stop with money, emphasising that opportunities abound in sharing ideas and experience in a situation like the workshop.
He said that BusinessDay’s plan was very important because it has helped in expanding the knowledge of the beneficiaries in managing resources available to them. Rabiu Tata Fagge, Union Bank’s head of SMEs, said the role of the bank was to support wealth creation.
“It is not just to make so much money as a bank, it is to see how we can support businesses grow, generate employment, pay taxes and create wealth”, he said.
Fagge further explained that Union Bank is providing the services to ensure that the nation’s development is achieved.
According to him, Union Bank is directly supporting 68,000 SMEs and has also identified 134,000 SMEs nationwide that it is discussing with, saying before the end of June they would have made progress.
Tayo Oduwole of the Computer Warehouse Group advised that SME operators open websites and go for open shopping where people can buy direct from online.
“Take your business online to have a larger market”, he said.
Charles Ugwu, a participant who said he learnt from the workshop about running a business, thanked the organisers and urged that it should be a continuous programme to widen the scope of small businesses.
Earlier, Amadi Iheukwumere, manager, conference unit/enterprises, BusinessDay, outlined the role played by BusinessDay in ensuring that SMEs in Nigeria are given adequate information on how to run their businesses and make good use of resources available to them.
The workshop was also facilitated by Union Bank, Etisalat, Computer Warehouse Group, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), and Enugu State SME Centre.
