Experts have said that achieving shared and inclusive prosperity in Nigeria will require the increased participation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the financial market.
Speaking during a session on maximizing the financial markets for shared prosperity at the 28th Nigerian Economic Summit on Tuesday, Temi Popoola, chief executive officer, of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Ltd. said the real drivers of prosperity and the economy are SMEs and there is a need to make them more involved in the capital market to drive shared prosperity.
“One of the ways to attract them is through macro-level policies and micro level policies and we can learn from Bulgaria which is the fastest growing country in the world this year leveraging the micro policy route,” he said.
He said the NGX and other related agencies can use some of the levers within their control to drive smaller companies to the capital markets.
Lola Alausa, a participant, said the financial market is the bedrock of the economy and plays the role of a matchmaker and allocates resources to where it is needed.
She added that the missing gap in people’s participation in the financial market is lack of knowledge and poor sensitization, because many people place bets but are skeptical about the operations of the financial market
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“For us to look beyond the current growth rate that the financial market is experiencing, intermediaries such as the various regulators play and they must assure stability and grow the trust of people,” she said.
She added that the cash outside the financial market is underreported, and that long term value cannot be achieved if people are reluctant to put their money in the financial market.
Zeal Akaraiwe, CEO of Graeme Blaque Group said that the average age of investors is slightly older than it should be and recommended that alternative products attractive to the younger generation should be included in the financial markets.
He added that competency, transparency and accountability are the foundations of the financial markets and policies also have to be made on this premise to attract people to the financial market.
“If these elements are excluded from policies the financial market will crumble; there should also be more incentives to attract people into the financial market,” he said.
For equitably shared prosperity in the economy, he advised that there is a need to provide better opportunities for businesses while fiscal and monetary policy must be synchronized for the benefit of businesses and investors.
Tola Adeyemi, Regional Senior Partner & Chief Executive, KPMG, Nigeria & West Africa said shared prosperity is about significant access to capital particularly for SMEs.
“Right now there are so many entrepreneurs who are constrained by lack of capital and are forced to access capital on Shylock terms with exorbitant interest rates,” he said.
He said to achieve a shared and inclusive prosperity there is need to focus on the issue of access to capital especially for budding entrepreneurs.
