The Federal Government in collaboration with the Forum of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Business Membership Organisations of Nigeria, (MSME Forum) has agreed to establish MSME Bank that would support the growth of small businesses in the country.
This was disclosed by Dr Albert Olajide Akinyemi, Chairman, Board of Trustees of Forum of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Business Membership Organisations of Nigeria (MSME Forum) in his welcome address at the 4th quarterly strategic planning meeting in Abuja over the weekend.
Dr Akinyemi said: “We have resolved, with government and private sector support and collaboration, to set up MSME Bank, a bank owned by the MSMEs for the MSMEs. I am happy that all the government as well as international development organisations visited so far, agreed that this is the way forward. We again solicit for collaboration to achieve this.”
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of MSME Forum lamented that the economic problem of Nigeria is within Nigeria and can be resolved within Nigeria and by Nigerians, some of whom he said were in attendance.
He noted that until the country acknowledges and appreciates the relevance of MSME sector to the economy, the nation cannot make any headway in its efforts to “free Nigeria from the current economic distress, a distress brought about by our inability to institutionalise the MSME sector, provide the needed enabling environment for its growth and development.”
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He acknowledged the relevance of the theme of the 4th Quarterly Strategic Planning Meeting as being very significant for the growth and development of the MSME sector and the national economy, stressing that a thorough knowledge of how to develop bankable business plans and leverage the funding opportunities in the capital and financial export markets will be of great benefit to the Business Management Organisations (BMOs) and their members.
Dr Akinyemi pointed out that corruption is one of the factors hindering the growth and development of the MSME sector in the country, and not that the government has not funded the sector, stressing that over the years the government has initiated financial windows and established banks to provide financial succour for the sector, whose population according to SMEDAN-NBS survey, is about 41 million.
“Though what was provided is like pouring water into the ocean. We feel that it is important to stress here that the forum is advocating closer collaboration with agencies implementing these initiatives for effective implementation. The inability of these financial windows to cater adequately for the huge number of the MSME sector is one of the reasons that prompted the birth of the MSME FORUM,” he further said.
The event, which was attended by the Minister of State of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, represented, attracted participants from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and other BMOs.
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