Small businesses under hammer of inflation

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria are cutting operating hours, reducing stock, and closing shops as surging energy costs, driven by high petrol/diesel prices and electricity tariff hikes consume up to 60 per cent of their profits. Many micro-businesses and manufacturers now operate at a fraction of their capacity to avoid passing unsustainable costs […]

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria are cutting operating hours, reducing stock, and closing shops as surging energy costs, driven by high petrol/diesel prices and electricity tariff hikes consume up to 60 per cent of their profits. Many micro-businesses and manufacturers now operate at a fraction of their capacity to avoid passing unsustainable costs to consumers, findings by Weekend Trust has shown.

MSMEs, particularly artisans and operators in the informal economy,  are said to  contribute about 90 per cent of Gross domestic products (GDP) to Nigeria’s economy, according to conomic experts.

This group of businesses is increasingly facing existential threats over unfriendly policies and programmes. Nigeria interestingly, boasts of over 40 million MSMEs, unfortunately, they are caught in constant crisis of low energy transmission and persistent power outages, disrupting business models throughout the value chain.

A few with moderate capital salvage their businesses with generating sets, which also comes at a significant cost, thereby,  increasing daily operating expenses amid low returns.

Scores of traders and artisans who spoke to Weekend Trust expressed frustration over the harsh reality of energy costs on their businesses.

Petrol price  N187 per liter in 2023has risento about N1,400 per liter in 2026 due to fuel subsidy removal, and further aggravated by the ongoing US-Iran war in the Middle East.

 

‘Our frustration’

For Toyin Adeniyia frozen food seller, prolonged power outages mean spoilt stock and wasted capital.

“Traders in this business face power outages and minimal profits due to the economic  situation in the country. The erratic power supply has clearly pushed many of us into indebtedness. We have no electricity to chill our drinks, preserve our frozen foodstuffs, or operate our cold rooms.” She said.   

“Cartons of frozen chicken, fish, and prawns get spoilt in a week of purchase. Some of us manage to salvage the situation with solar and generators, others aren’t as fortunate. It’a terrible experience. The unstable power supply is partly why the fish and  other frozen foods prices increase daily.” she noted.

Also in Garki, Abuja traders lamented the impact of electricity tariff hikes and rising fuel costs on their businesses.

Baba Ahmed, a welder who needs constant electricity to carry out his job, notes that N1,000, which used to provide fifteen units of electricity, now produced just seven units.

“In three days, we exhaust five thousand naira on energy. After paying for energy, there’s barely anything left for food. We barely survive as saving money is out of the question,” he said.

Further checks showed that despite receiving little or no power, consumers are subjected to exorbitant estimated billing, they noted.

Similarly, a fashion designer stated that he spends thousands of naira daily on fuel to power his generator, yet the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) continues to issue him high electricity bills for power he does not consume.

“We are still paying for electricity we don’t use and there is nobody to hold the electricity companies accountable. It’s shameful.. The government can do their part, but electricity suppliers must also fulfil their responsibilities,” he said.

A barber who didn’t want his name in print said that he had to buy rechargeable clippers for his shop to enable him attend to customers’ to reduce the high cost of fueling his generator.

For a business centre owner in Jikwoyi, Abuja Emeka Eze  continuous epileptic power supply disrupts operations and keeps customers away from his shop.

He notes that the constant increase in fuel prices have made it difficult for him to sustain the business,

 

“80 per cent of our income goes into buying of fuel”

According to him “my small shop is struggling to survive under this harsh business environment. Since fuel subsidy removal and other policies of the government, I don’t make significant profits anymore. Infact, I’ am now an agent as a way  of engaging in other side hustles to enable me feed and provide for my family.” He said.

Henry Michael owns a laundry business in Orozo. He notes that inconsistent power supply  makes  life difficult and frustrating for many business owners, especially small business owners.

Henry said he plans to return home if the situation becomes unbearable for him.

“My business depends heavily on electricity and in the long run, I now have to rely on generators, especially since we use heavy washing machines.  Again, constant increase in fuel prices have made it impossible for me to operate my generator daily”.

“I’m thinking of buying charcoal irons as an alternative as I don’t want to disappoint my customers or lose business opportunities,” he said.

Similarly, in Kano many traders dealing in essential goods at the famous Singer Market are scaling down business activities due to the rising cost of transportation triggered by high fuel prices.

Secretary of the market’s traders association, Alhaji Hamisu Jingau notes that many traders in the market record losses daily on account of transporting goods from Lagos to Kano.

Jingau explained that transporters and those in the haulage business have significantly increased their charges for traders bringing essential goods into Kano from Lagos as the cost of fuel continues to rise in recent times.

“Traders no longer bring goods in bulk as before because of the cost of fuel which has significantly increased transportation cost.

“What happens is when traders pay for transportation nothing is left from the profit and so many hardly purchase goods that require movement from one location to another, and when they must, they buy  in small quantity just to satisfy customers. Also, customers who used to buy goods in large quantities now buy little, it’s that bad,” said Jingau.

He explained that the  cost of bringing goods from  coastal areas to the hinterland now runs into millions of naira with many traders unwilling to pay exorbitant transportation costs only to record losses or very low profit margins.

Jingau also noted that customers outside the state no longer come to the market, instead send purchase orders and make online transactions  for  traders to waybill the goods, which they consider way cheaper and better.

Explaining further, to save transportation cost, Jingau said, traders sometimes deliver goods from the point of purchase directly to customers outside Kano, adding that some traders now pool resources together to share the cost of transporting goods.

According to him, two to three traders now share the cost of bringing a single container to Kano where the market is experiencing low activity.

Traders from neighbouring states like Katsina, Zamfara, Bauchi as well as neighbouring Niger,Chad and Cameroon transact businesses with the Singer Market traders.

Similarly, Mustapha Muhammad, runs a provisions store, said he only stocks up his shop with essential food items like rice, flour, sugar, cooking oil, soaps and detergents because these items move as people must eat.

Muhammad said he no longer restocks kitchen utensils, cosmetics, plastic items and electronics because people are after essential goods and not luxury anymore.

“I rely on my loyal customers who buy their foods and other essential goods here because the cost of transportation has disrupted the market with a lot of uncertainties and low profit margins.

“Before now people from all over used to come here to patronise us because there was no price difference from what you got in the market and here, but that has changed now because transportation is an added  cost which customers always factor in before coming,” he said.

A perishable items dealer, Haladu Ali,narrates similar experience,  noting that scarcity of perishable items like tomato and pepper coupled with high transportation cost has left him with no option but to focus on selling small quantities of yam which he usually buys from the same Yankaba market.

“Because of the scarcity, the prices have more than doubled. Perishable items are seasonal and we also face transportation challenge. In this business you can easily incur losses because the items can easily get spoilt. I can’tafford refrigerators to preserve them, and even if I could, public power supply isnt constant though expensive.

“So honestly when you overcome one challenge, another one springs up. I visit my village  regularly, getting ready for the farming season to complement my earnings,” said the trader.

Suleiman Bala who runs a business centre along Naibawa road, however faces a different challenge.

Bala said  rise in rent and cost of electricity are his major problems.

“They just increased the rent to about N250,000 when we are battling with rising production costs.

“First, this business relies heavily on power. You either get public supply of electricity or use your generator which uses fuel, an expensive commodity if you ask me. KEDCO gives me a monthly bill of about N15,000 even when supply isn’t regular. When I factor money spent on fuelling the generator I realise that I’m running at loss, “said Bala.

To mitigate the cost, he said he uses a small solar inverter to run photocopies when clients are in a hurry and cannot wait longer than necessary for electricity to be supplied .

Bala also said he brought a POS operator to the shop to share part of rent payment, a move he believes helped reduce cost.

 Mudatex, a textile dealer at Kantin Kwari market, introduced installment payment for his goods to enable residents buy textiles. His noble idea is believed to be an innovative way of surviving in the market being squeezed by rising transportation costs.

Meanwhile, another textile trader, Abubakar, Danzaria  applied a different idea. He relinquished his rented shop to become a mobile trader who targets civil servants at local government secretariats and other public places to transact business.

Dan Zaria said low profit margins and his inability to get a shop inside Kanti Kwari market gave him the idea of jettisoning his shop for mobile business.

He however, said movement from one location to another is taking a  drastic toll on the small profits he is able to make.

“Fortunately I have a motorcycle with which I move around, otherwise I  wouldn’t have been able cope with transportation fares charged by commercial tricyclists who will think that I am a rich trader,” added Dan Zaria.

 

‘Survival strategy’

In Lagos, traders struggle to sustain businesses amid rising economic hardship. Traders have expressed concerns over the difficulty in keeping their businesses afloat amid soaring prices, declining purchasing power and reduced customer patronage.

In a chat with Weekend Trust, they noted that they had been forced to adopt various survival strategies to remain in business despite the harsh economic conditions.

Akamuokulo John who sells foodstuff identified increase in the cost of transportation exercabted by the cost of Prenium Motor Spirit (PMS) as the major contribution to his expenses.

“Whenever I go to the market to buy goods, the cost of transportation adds to the expenses and due to the high cost of things, some people always buy in small quantity just to manage.

“If the government can help with the reduction of fuel prices because it’s a major problem because if I am to go to buy in some places, I may not be able to go there because of the increase in the cost of fuel price,” he said.

Olorunosebi, who owns a Point of Sale (POS) outlet, said the current economic situation has significantly affected his purchasing power, forcing him to diversify his source of income by adding the sale of hair creams to his business.

“The cost of living is high. It is increasing daily. What I could afford with N10,000 and N20,000, I no longer can.

“I was working with a company before I started with POS, but now I cannot rely on just POS alone, so I had to include selling of hair cream,” he said.

According to him, relying solely on the POS business is no longer sustainable as rising living costs continue to erode earnings.

A clothing trader, Ademola Abiodun, lamented the impact of inflation on his business, noting that both his stock and customer purchases have reduced significantly.

“Everybody knows that the price of things have high. As a business owner, the materials I used to buy like three wears I now buy for two because the cost of things increase daily.

“It is not helping my business because consumers have also reduced their purchase because the prices of things have gone up and it is something that needs urgent attention”, he said.

Abiodun said that the continuous increase in prices has forced him to reduce the quantity of goods he purchases for resale, while customers are also cutting back on spending due to financial constraints.

 

Economic analysts speak on effect of crumbling small businesses

Wilson Agaba while speaking on Trust TV’s Business Daily  programme said when small businesses struggle, the effects are felt across the larger economy.

According to him, they will be job losses, household incomes drop drastically while goods and services become more expensive.

He added that in the long run, the pressure on small businesses can weaken markets, deepen poverty and worsen already fragile economic conditions of Nigerians.

Also giving his perspective on the issue, development expert, Joseph Momoh  notes that the businesses  shutting down due to rising transport and electricity costs is an example of cost-push inflation, where the cost of production and distribution increases faster than business revenues. 

“In Nigeria, many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) depend heavily on road transport and self-generated power. When fuel prices rise and grid electricity remains unreliable, businesses face double burden: higher logistics costs and operating expenses. Many are forced to raise prices, reduce staff, or shut down entirely.

“The transport challenge affects every stage of the value chain. Manufacturers pay more to move raw materials, distributors pay more to deliver products, and consumers pay more to travel to markets. The result is reduced demand because household incomes aren’t increasing at the same pace. Businesses then face lower sales volumes even as their operating costs continue to climb.

“Electricity costs have become a critical issue. Firms that rely on generators often spend a significant share of their revenue on diesel or petrol. For small businesses such as bakeries, restaurants, salons, and cold-storage operators, energy expenses determine if the business survives or not. High electricity tariffs combined with unreliable supply discourage investment and reduce competitiveness,” he said

On what government can do, he highlighted that “From an economic perspective, the government should prioritize improving energy infrastructure. Expanding generation capacity, reducing transmission losses, and encouraging private investment in renewable energy can lower long-term electricity costs. Incentives for solar mini-grids and captive power systems for industrial clusters would help businesses reduce dependence on expensive generators.

“On transportation, investments in rail networks, inland waterways, and road rehabilitation would reduce the cost of moving goods. The government can also provide targeted support for commercial transport operators through vehicle financing schemes and policies that improve fuel efficiency. Better transport infrastructure lowers costs across the entire economy rather than benefiting only a few sectors.

“Targeted support for SMEs is equally important. Rather than broad subsidies, which are expensive and often inefficient, government could offer temporary tax relief, low-interest credit facilities, and energy-efficiency grants to businesses most affected by rising costs. Such measures help firms stay operational while longer-term reforms take effect

“Ultimately, sustainable business growth depends on reducing the structural costs of doing business. If Nigeria can achieve more reliable electricity, more efficient transport systems, and a stable macroeconomic environment, businesses will become more productive, prices will stabilize, employment will grow, and the rate of business closures will decline significantly,” he further explained.

 

By Yusuf Akogu, Philip Shimnom Clement (Abuja), Ahmad Datti, (Kano, and Dotun Omisakin, Lagos