Major stakeholders have identified some of the best ways to help the growth and survival of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
One of the suggestions made included the need for government to creatively use social media platforms in disseminating information to young entrepreneurs and improve the content of their websites to give detailed information on their programmes.
The suggestions were made at the end of a one day conference on Small and Medium Enterprises sustainable and growth in June.
The conference was organised by the Arts and Civic Table Organisation, TACT.
The conference which was attended by representatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry (BOI), Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) among other stakeholders spoke to SMEs about government’s funding interventions.
The conference noted that despite the availability of government interventions to improve the SMEs, much had not been done to exploit the opportunities.
Some of the problems identified as inhibiting access to such interventions, it was discovered, stemmed from the informal mode of operation; taxes and government levies and poor access to capital.
Poor public infrastructure, unfavourable regulatory environment, as well as unsupportive and unrealistic government policies, poor business skills, poor record-keeping and poor risk management were also identified as some of the problems.
Suggesting ways out of the problems for the SMEs, the conference came up with the following suggestions as documented in a communiqué issued.
The document showing the way out reads in part:
“The government should review policies that adversely affect MSMEs in order to create an enabling environment for business. Such policies include taxation, pioneer incentives; innovative financing tools that can further boost access to capital by these businesses.
“The government should develop a process for engaging effectively with MSMEs, while supporting their survival and growth by providing rebates on taxes and critical services and providing a business-friendly and effective regulatory environment. Continuous targeted communication and feedback would help build trust with MSMEs, especially those who still believe that opportunities provided by government are for connected persons only.
“The government should encourage innovation by collaborating with innovative health SMEs in areas like health finance, for business models that can solve challenges like the incessant doctors’ strike. This SME-Government collaboration can be extended beyond the health sector, for a mutually beneficial relationship that can positively impact on society.
“The government should enable more National MSME Clinics and hold them frequently, not occasionally, to provide an opportunity for business owners to follow up on engagement with participating organisations.
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“Business owners should visit the websites of government institutions and agencies like the CBN, BOI, SMEDAN, and LSETF to get information on eligibility criteria and how to access funding interventions.
“Entrepreneurs should seek information that can be beneficial to their businesses, especially on customer value proposition and service efficiency, people management and process standardization, market access and general industry knowledge. They should also explore strategic alliances and partnerships to achieve synergy.
“All stakeholders should support MSMEs in a continuous capacity building process that would foster the improvement of their entrepreneurship skills, with government and commercial banks supporting such interventions from business consultants as many micro businesses cannot afford the cost of such training programmes.”
