MSMEs operators laud CBN’s interventions, call for more

Operators of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country have commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its various interventions in the sector, which is widely regarded as the engine room of the economy.

The MSMEs owners who converged in Abuja at the weekend to discuss issues of common interest and chart a way forward on how to grow their businesses, unanimously agreed that the various facilities extended to their enterprises by the apex bank assisted immensely in sustaining their operations despite other teething challenges.

Speaking to journalists, the leader of the group, Alhaji Kabiru Abubakar, expressed appreciation for the foresight of the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for initiating the various measures that have assisted the MSMEs in the country to weather the unfriendly business climate, which has been compounded by epileptic electricity supply.

He frowned at the multiple taxation and harassment that many enterprises have been battling with, and called on the Federal Government to intervene fast to prevent the businesses from going under.

According to him, if the CBN did not extend a lifeline to the MSMEs at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, many enterprises would not have survived the debilitating impact of the scourge on businesses.

He, therefore, called on the CBN to explore other ways of assisting the MSMEs to overcome some of the challenges confronting enterprises in the country as they are employers to a sizable number of people.

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The CBN’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) initiated in pursuance of its development financing function under its overall macroeconomic growth support strategy has continued to receive applause, even outside the shores of Nigeria.

Available data shows that as of the first quarter of last year, 447,671 beneficiaries had been supported under the apex bank’s targeted credit facility across the country, with 58,229 businesses and 389,442 households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic stimulated job retention across the sector.

The CBN has financed 488 MSME projects nationwide, in the MSMEDF segment of its intervention, comprising 120 state projects and 368 private sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, services, renewable energy and trading with 216,706 direct and indirect jobs created across the country.

Also, about 55,422 budding entrepreneurs were trained under the Entrepreneurship Development Centres established under the intervention.

Specifically, in addition to the MSMEDF, Alhaji Abubakar reiterated their appreciation to Emefiele for the interventions in Agribusiness Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AgSMEIS), Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), Targeted Credit Facility (TCF), and the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF).

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MSMEs operators laud CBN’s interventions, call for more

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MSMEs operators laud CBN’s interventions, call for more