Abuja Chamber says SMEs need good policies to unleash potential
Tony Ejinkeonye, president of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has said that the micro, small and medium businesses (MSMEs) need good policies to thrive.
In an interview with BusinessDay, Ejinkeonye said SMEs play a major role in Nigeria’s economy in the areas of job creation and income distribution, urging the government to create the right environment that will enable this category of business to unleash their potential.
“They are the bedrock that economy thrive on. The future of Nigeria lies more on the leverage of MSMEs because they contribute more in terms of investments. Reports indicate that in Nigeria today, 65-70 percent of its work force is under small and medium enterprise,” he said.
He stated that owing to the SMEs’ contribution to the economy, the sector needs to be accorded its right of place.
“Successive governments in Nigeria have in the last three decades shown much interest in ensuring adequate financing for SMEs by establishing various schemes and specialised financial institutions to provide appropriate financing to the subsector. But the failure of most of these schemes reveals that the problem of SMEs in Nigeria is not limited to lack of long-term financing, but also inadequate management skills and entrepreneurial capacity,” he said.
According to him, the doing business environment in Nigeria is becoming increasingly difficult as most businesses continue to suffer a lot of misery aggravated in part by limited infrastructure and defective policies, among others.
Citing the World Bank’s Doing Business report, which places Nigeria on 169th position out of 189 economies, the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s president said that non-access to foreign exchange has made doing business in Nigeria more difficult.
“Some companies are already divesting from the Nigerian market, and going to neighbouring countries because of growing insecurity on investments and harsh economic climate,” Ejinkonye said.
ODINAKA ANUDU