FG to set up national MSME council, raises hope on small businesses

President Goodluck Jonathan will in the next few weeks inaugurate a National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Council, the first-ever body that would oversee the activities of MSMEs in the country for better functioning and delivery.

The council would be chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo, Olusegun Aganga, minister of industry, trade and investment, said in Abuja.

The exact members of the proposed council is not yet known, but Aganga said the whole idea was to bring all MSME stakeholders under one roof, to enable the sector get better attention, and particularly get its needs addressed comprehensively, going forward.
The minister said the body, amongst other things, would see that MSME businesses access the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development fund just flagged off by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and also ensure that they pay back and remain sustainable.

Aganga noted that the government was working to strengthen the sector, recognising that, anywhere in the world, small businesses remain the heart of economies for inclusive economic growth.

He affirmed that in Nigeria, small businesses account for over 95 percent of all the businesses registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and employ more than three quarter of all Nigerians, and account for about half of Nigeria’s GDP.

“That is how important this sector is,” he said, acknowledging that yet, for many years, the sector had received minimal attention, as only 8 percent of small businesses in Nigeria have access to formal financing channels.

The minister also recalled that earlier this year, his ministry developed the National Enterprise Development Programme launched by President Jonathan to once and for all address the numerous challenges that small businesses face in Nigeria.

He noted that the government had already made a commitment to support MSMEs in seven key areas: access to affordable finance, access to market, formalisation of businesses, skill and technology acquisition, provision of infrastructure to reduce the cost of operation by having dedicated SME industrial parks.

He also recalled that the president had approved the reduction of cost for setting up SMEs by 60 percent, which took effect since October 2013.

Aganga said another big step towards the development of MSMEs was the CBN N220 billion, which he said would help in addressing the most ridicule constraint to MSME growth, which is access to affordable finance.

He was hopeful that the fund would catalyze financing to Nigeria’s MSMEs sector and facilitate commercial and microfinance banks to lend to the sector.