The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says the conditions for accessing the N220 billion micro and small medium enterprises (MSMEs) funds are too stringent.

Its Director-General, Alhaji Bature Masari, said this at a forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

According to him, the conditions have prevented some intending entrepreneurs from accessing to the funds.

Masari said although, many Nigerians had been able to access the funds, there was the need to review the conditions for the disbursement.

“They have been doing the disbursement using commercial banks and micro finance institutions and even financial NGOs and very many Nigerians have been able to access the fund.

“But it is also true that they are having a lot of complaints by Nigerians who have been trying to access the fund.

“But it has proved to be a little bit difficult, mainly because the conditions attached for Nigerians to meet up before they can be able to access the fund are a bit stringent for the ordinary Nigerians.

“Very many Nigerians who have enterprise ideas and would want to go into enterprise set up and development lack the requisite collateral for them to approach any commercial bank for financial intervention.

“And the Central Bank of Nigeria did not fully take that into cognisance when it was introducing the N220 billion MSMEs development fund.

“And that is why we still have to contend with the problem of lack of access to finance.”

Masari said that for MSMEs in Nigeria to develop and provide the needed employment and economic empowerment to the masses, the issues of funding must be addressed holistically.

According to him, the challenge of access to finance has been militating against the development of MSMEs in the country.

He said that many Nigerians were eager to establish business enterprises, but could not do so due to their inability to provide collateral security to financial intuitions for loans.

Masari said that in its bid to tackle the challenges of funding for the MSMEs sector, SMEDAN had initiated series of measures.

He said listed the establishment of the National Council of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (NCMSME) as one of the measures.

Masari said that the establishment of the council was designed to address the challenges militating against the development of the MSME in the country.

“That is an issue we have been handling for the past one year using the platform of National Council of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.

“We were able to engineer the establishment of the council by the former administration and the council is being chaired by the Vice-President of Nigeria.

“So that we can be able to have the highest backing of government in order to bring stakeholders that are operating within that sector of the economy for us to address the major uplifting MSME development.

“The issue of the disbursement of the N220 billion MSMEs fund has come under the search light of the national council.

“We have been brainstorming on how the disbursement of the fund can be made much better so that Nigerians who do not have collateral before they can be able to get funds for enterprise setup and development can approach commercial banks.

“Who has key into MSME N220 billion development to be able to get funds access to the fund for enterprise set up and development.

“We had been working diligently with the CBN with a view to fine-tuning some of the conditions so that the ordinary Nigerians can be able to access the fund.”

He, however, expressed optimism that with the support of the council, the agency would address the challenges facing the sector.

NAN recalls that the Federal Government had in 2013 launched the N220 billion MSMEs development fund. (NAN)

•Photo shows SMEDAN DG, Alj. Bature Masari

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