As the present authorities underneath the management of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu clocked one yr on Could 29, 2024, the pledge of N200 billion Intervention Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) made on the inauguration of this authorities is but to materialise as most Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) within the nation claimed they’re but to learn from the scheme, LEADERSHIP learnt.
The intervention fund, as introduced by the President in his inaugural speech, was to energise the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Nano companies and manufacturing sector within the nation.
In the meantime, in April 2024, the federal authorities introduced the launch of a N200 billion Presidential Intervention Fund for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) and producers within the nation.
The minister of Trade, Commerce and Funding, Doris Uzoka-Anite, who made the announcement in a submit on her X, previously Twitter, web page, mentioned the gesture was focused at supporting a million nano companies throughout the nation, the federal government has determined to incorporate each MSMEs and producers within the initiative.
The commerce minister mentioned the brand new grant will probably be recovered in month-to-month equal instalments with no moratorium, spanning a three-year time period.
Beneath the scheme of association, N75 billion was anticipated to be distributed to MSMEs whereas one other N75 billion will probably be distributed to gamers within the manufacturing business underneath the Presidential Intervention Fund.
Regardless of the N200 billion intervention funds rolled out to energise the manufacturing sector to enhance native content material drive and strengthen native economic system for producers within the nation, the Micro, small and medium enterprise claimed they’re but to entry any of the intervention funds to revolutionise the sector.
That is at the same time as most SMEs are groaning underneath an excruciating and hard enterprise working surroundings that has led to break down of some, whereas the remaining current ones have downsized to deal with the present financial realities.
Other than the truth that this growth has additional bloated the already saturated labour market, it has equally taken a toll on the stability sheets of the affected companies.
Different challenges companies are grappling with, embody; gasoline subsidy removing, foreign exchange market volatility, a number of taxation, electrical energy tariff, amongst others.
Reacting on the N200 billion intervention funds by MSMEs, consultants and SMEs stakeholders claimed they’re but to see any proof of the intervention funds allotted to the sector, including that the disbursement centered extra on the manufacturing sector than MSMEs within the nation.
Checks by LEADERSHIP revealed that MSMEs ranks third when it comes to the least allocation throughout the intervention programmes, trails behind the export sector with a meagre two per cent allocation and the well being sector, which barely constitutes per cent of the overall intervention programmes.
Therefore, SMEs stakeholders raised alarm, stressing that, frequent coverage flip-flops, excessive rate of interest on loans, hyper-inflation, astronomical power price, a number of expenses and a typically poisonous working area amongst different constraints, have made them endangered species such that solely pragmatic options, not simply rhetorics can save them from the ultimate gasp of ruins.
Talking in a phone dialog with LEADERSHIP, President, Affiliation of Small Enterprise House owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr. Femi Egbesola, famous that the subsidy removing and consequent hike within the pump worth of gasoline eroded the capital base of small companies therefore, resulting in sharp drop in gross sales and reduce in liquidity for small companies.
He recalled that president Bola Tinubu, in his inaugural deal with on Could 29, 2023, introduced the removing of gasoline subsidy and plans to unify the international change (foreign exchange) market, primarily based on which the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) subsequently liberalised the foreign exchange market.
Commenting on the impression of those coverage measures to date on the MSMEs, Egbesola said that: “Small companies have suffered extra shocks and a number of headwinds with nice important losses and setbacks because of the gasoline worth enhance on account of subsidy removing. Many small companies are not operating at revenue ranges. Gross sales have dropped sharply and turnover is low with provide facet inflation.
‘‘This has inadvertently resulted in a drop in manufacturing/gross sales beneath capability, job losses, lower in money availability and in the end a handful of companies had gone moribund or skilled whole closure. It’s certainly a sorry case.”
He famous that the resultant impact of the motion is already manifesting in rising the costs of products and commodities. “That is already evident as costs of products and commodities have risen and it’ll stay on the upward development. The truth has downed us as lots of our MSME (Micro, small and medium enterprises) members complained bitterly of low gross sales or no gross sales.
“It’s unlucky that there aren’t palliatives put in place to cushion the adverse results of subsidy removing, significantly on poor households and small companies earlier than its eventual implementation. This has added to the myriads of challenges beseeching MSMEs at the moment,” he identified.
To him, “Now we have not seen any coverage in sight directed to the SMEs, now we have not seen any Interventions for SMEs and enormous companies, now we have not seen any formidable plan in black and white. Now we have not had any actionable coverage that has been carried out to drive the micro economic system. The one factor on floor are paperwork and mere speeches. We’re but to see any roll out of intervention funding programmes for SMEs and the casual sector. What we see are mere speeches, guarantees with out financial blueprints to energise the sector.”
Egbesola additional urged that, small companies can mitigate the impression of the insurance policies by, ‘relearning new methods of managing funds, avoiding financial institution mortgage for cause of it’s excessive rate of interest.’
On his half, the chairman, SMEs Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Trade, (LCCI), Daniel Dickson Okezie mentioned, after the removing of gasoline subsidy, about 10 per cent of SMEs closed down from reviews and clearly since then until now about 10 to fifteen per cent of SMEs have closed store.
“Finally, it will have an effect on the federal government’s income when it comes to taxes in addition to different multiplied issues. And different firms that depend upon multinationals and native firms should exit of enterprise which is able to enhance the issues of the economic system,” he mentioned.
On his half, government director of CISLAC, Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsajani) pressured that, regardless of varied institution and businesses created to help the SMEs within the nation, entry to finance continues to be probably the most urgent downside as solely about 5 per cent of SMEs have been in a position to entry sufficient finance for working capital and for funding enterprise development.
He highlighted varieties of presidency backed organisation, notably the Small and Medium Enterprises Growth Company of Nigeria, (SMEDAN), Financial institution of Trade, (BOI), Nigeria Export-Import Financial institution, (NEXIM), Central Financial institution of Nigeria and Nigeria-Incentive Based mostly Threat Sharing system for Agriculture Based mostly Lending, (NIRSAL) whereas positing that, regardless of the creation of those institution to help the MSMEs, by organising SME growth company throughout 26 states in Nigeria, the MSMEs have been impacted by weak funding coverage and typically, lack of entry to finance.
He mentioned, authorities ought to enhance entry to finance for SMEs, strengthen statutory allocation for each authorized, and financing establishments to strengthen platforms for SMEs whereas calling on the federal government to interface for fiscal help and mutual development enlargement for SMEs.
However, the chairman of the Nationwide Affiliation of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Oyo State, John Karunwi, believes that, the final one yr of the administration was tormented by inflation, foreign exchange challenges, floating of forex, a number of change price and devaluation of Naira which eroded traders’ confidence within the nation.
NASME referred to as for worth stability, inflation management, and dependable energy provide, saying the aforementioned have been essential to the survival and development of MSMEs in Nigeria.