‘Lack of knowledge, bane of MSMEs in Nigeria’

Financial experts have identified lack of knowledge among operators of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country as bane of their success.  Speaking at a seminar organised by Skye Bank Plc, aimed at nurturing growth among MSME operators in the north central zone, in Ilorin recently, the group head of retail banking of […]

Financial experts have identified lack of knowledge among operators of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country as bane of their success.
 Speaking at a seminar organised by Skye Bank Plc, aimed at nurturing growth among MSME operators in the north central zone, in Ilorin recently, the group head of retail banking of the bank, Mrs. Nkolika Okoli, said the operators had failed to access the opportunities presented to them by government and finance houses due to lack of knowledge to develop their businesses.
Okoli, who said funds were usually made available for MSMEs by government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention fund or the Bank of Industry (BoI), however, said that the MSMES were not coming forth to access the funds provided by these channels.
 “We are here to teach them on how to access these funds. There is actually fund for SMES at single digit interest rate. The challenge of MSMEs is mainly lack of knowledge, including complaints about access to finance and access to market.
  “The aim of this seminar is to support operators of MSMES to grow. Our value promise to all MSMES is that we nurture business for growth. We are consciously looking for small businesses to nurture from small to growing and to established.
 “We are here to give loan. We can’t be in business without giving loan. But we speak different languages. The banks say ‘bring records’, you say ‘believe me’. But it doesn’t work like that. So, with this seminar, taken across the country, we teach the MSMEs things they need to know and how to keep records. Hopefully, we’ll nurture them from a small business to an established business. The key thing for MSMEs is honesty and integrity,” Okoli said.