Through the SME-focused project “YouThrive by Access,” the federal government and Access Bank have formed a new relationship to ensure that Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria have access to funding. The objective is to lower Nigeria’s high unemployment rate by facilitating the creation of jobs.
In addition to receiving the digital, technical, and skill acquisition training they need to prosper and generate wealth, participating small businesses will be empowered in a number of ways, according to Access Bank’s Head of Non-Financial Services for Emerging Businesses, Chioma Ogwo. These methods include capacity building and granting them access to reasonably priced financing.
According to Mr. Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, President Bola Tinubu’s senior special assistant on MSMEs and job creation, the action is a part of the government’s plan to generate 380,000 employment within the first four years of the administration. In four years, 384,000 new jobs are expected to be created. We’re going to make these jobs visible to all. We’ll take you to the locations of the jobs. Adekunle-Johnson stated, “You will hold us accountable,” yesterday in Abuja during the “Inaugural Job Creation and MSME Quarterly Communications Forum.”
According to Ogwo, N50 billion has been set aside by Access Bank for the intervention program. She noted that in addition to free awards going to worthy SMEs who have excelled, participants would be able to obtain loans at a 15 percent interest rate.
“In four years, we hope to empower four million people, or one million each year. Ogwo stated, “We have a business exchange program for the beneficiaries that would enable the SMEs to go and exchange ideas with their counterparts in other countries. Every year, 700,000 would be given access to financing, and 300,000 would be trained.” After then, we’ll take the best advice from the best and return to Nigeria to implement it.
Olatunbosun Tijani, the minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, stated that “we must prioritise support for small businesses” in order for the government to manage the country’s economic issues.
He pleaded with the authorities to give young people who are interested in technology the freedom to use innovation and technology to increase productivity in the MSMEs sector. According to him, Nigeria’s workforce’s propensity for technology gives it an opportunity to be a net exporter of technology.
Adekunle-Johnson stated that the government is committed to ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have smooth and simple access to funding. The process will allow SMEs to apply for loans and have them approved in 14 days rather than six months, she acknowledged, noting that some businesses may fail while waiting for loan approval.
The goal, according to him, is to get MSMEs a single-digit loan. “We want to make sure that MSMEs only get loans in the single digits.” In order to lessen the obstacles that MSMEs frequently encounter when trying to obtain money for their operations, he revealed that payments will be made promptly following the completion of the loan assessment.
Meanwhile, 3 million jobs in Nigeria were lost to floods in 2023, according to Charles Odii, director-general of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). He withheld information regarding precise numbers related to the flooding that severely damaged homes and life.
He said that the government has created technology that can warn of an approaching flood threat throughout the states, which will enable it to take preventative action to evict possible victims.
According to him, SMEDAN is assisting MSMEs in overcoming obstacles, particularly those related to low production costs and rent, which enables them to be profitable and contribute to the economy.
Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, President Tinubu’s deputy chief of staff, stated that MSMEs give resilience and agility to any economy. He also added that a country with a strong MSME sector will have a more resilient economy and be better equipped to withstand some of the recent shocks to the global economy.