Stakeholders say MSMEs are largest generators of jobs
Stakeholders say micro, small and medium scale enterprises are the biggest creators of jobs in the Nigerian economy. They, therefore, urge governments at various levels to empower them to liberate the country from the current economic woes that have seen policy makers devalue naira.
Muda Yusuf, director-general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI), told Start-Up Digest that government should pay more attention to MSMEs and other indigenous businesses as they will create more value to the economy than foreign investors who call pull out their funds when they deem fit.
“You get more value in terms of jobs, in terms of profit retention and re-investment from MSMEs. These are businesses that can liberate us from the problems of unemployment,” he said.
Olusegun Aganga, Nigeria’s minister of industry, trade and investment, said during a recent visit to the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi that SMEs remain the best way to create jobs in the country and reduce unemployment. Aganga said no country would move from poor to rich without taking a closer look at this segment of businesses.
However, SMEs are still stifled by poor access to credit and difficulty in accessing same. According to Yusuf, most SMEs are complaining conditions attached to credit by banks as well as high cost of accessing same.
He further said his experience has shown that a number of Nigerian MSMEs use generators, which ultimately ramp up their costs.
“ If you move close to these businesses, it is a daily lament on how much they spend on energy,’ he said, while urging the government to intervene in the power crisis to save the economy.
He said these are issues that make Nigerian products and businesses uncompetitive noth in the domestic and international markets.
Derek Omoleh, director-general, Special Intervention Office of Nigeria (SCION), said there is the need to work out a new MSME model to drive the sector. According to Omoleh, the new SME working model must incorporate the development of entrepreneurial centres to drive the monitoring and technical assistance that SMEs need for growth. He said the new model requires the state and local governments to support the development of SME clusters and cooperatives for the purpose of driving shared services and reduced costs.
He further said that any workable SME development policy should have non-traditional transactional products and lending offerings to focus largely on the underserved micro segment of the economy, adding that the model should promote and implement a unique public-private partnership to develop industrial parks, entrepreneurship centres and incubators, to boost the development of the segment.
ODINAKA ANUDU