By Ikenna Osuoha
An economist, Dr Ifeanyi Asogwa, has called on the Federal Government to create a special bank for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria to propel efficiency in the sector.
Asogwa, who spoke on the importance of SMEs to the nation’s economy, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that “SMEs is a major driver of the economy”.
According to him, it has the capacity to sustain the nation’s macro-businesses.
“If you want money from the regular banks, you hardly get it. There is need for a special bank to give out facilities to SMEs.
“Almost all the multinationals in Nigeria are being sustained by SMEs. It is the SMEs that supply them with most of their operational tools,’’ he said.
The financial expert said that the unavailability of special bank had impaired the smooth running of SMEs in the country.
“Most of these SMEs after supplying sand, water, and other raw materials to macro-businesses, they hardly get their money on time.
“Sometimes, it takes up to one year, two years, three years and even four years and above for them to get their capital,’’ he said.
He, therefore, urged government to pull resources together in order to support and protect the SMEs’ scheme in Nigeria.
Asogwa, however, reiterated the need for the authorities to capture the data of all the SMEs in the country for economic prosperity.
It will be recalled that Nigeria plans to launch a development bank by January to support smaller-scale businesses, the finance minister said
She added that the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has secured commitment from the World Bank for $1.3 billion in seed money
“It is going to provide money for (small and medium-sized enterprises) and for Nigeria that is really important because 50 percent of our GDP is made up of small companies,” Adeosun said in a statement.
– NAN
