Industrialists Target Concessionary Credits for MSMEs, Ecosystem Players 

The industrialists under the auspices of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (LCCI) are advocating concessionary credits for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to enhance sustenance of the private sector.

The president of LCCI, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole recommended that, to reduce shocks from supply chain disruptions of raw materials, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should ensure that targeted concessionary credit to the private sector is sustained for MSMEs, while it embarks on tightening monetary policy to tame inflation.

The chamber also said, the cost of logistics had gone up due to the poor state of roads and the lack of connectivity amongst farms, factories and markets.

According to LCCI president, the government must take cognisance of the socio-economic implications of fuel subsidy removal, especially with unemployment at an unwholesome rate of about 40 per cent.

He explained that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country are presently struggling to make profit and remain in business, with the cost of operations spiralling out of control.

He added that business owners are worried about the continued fall of the naira, rise in the cost of energy, foreign exchange scarcity, increasing cost of importing raw materials, insecurity, with other challenges of infrastructure deficiency confronting the economy.

With all these challenges which have continued to increase the cost of doing business in the country, he said, many small businesses are now seeking different survival strategies to enable them remain in business.

LCCI boss expressed that, the rising costs have led to job losses in the country which has also weakened the purchasing power of cash-strapped consumers.

These mounting hurdles, he added, have forced many small businesses to scale down while some have closed shop, thereby, worsening the country’s unemployment situation.

Also speaking, the director general of the Chamber, Chinyere Almona, said, apart from eroding purchasing power, high inflation has also led to inventory stockpiles adding that, If left unchecked, the high inflation may further constrain production, lead to a steeper rise in poverty figures, frustrate economic growth and lead to higher unemployment and non-competitive exports, especially in the sub-region.

The director general of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Olawale Fasanya, said businesses have continued to show resilience and a high level of optimism in spite of the economic downturn.

He appealed to the government and ecosystem players to take a more intentional approach to support small businesses in this difficult time, particularly, since businesses produce ripple benefits that trigger employment generation, poverty reduction and wealth creation.”

The director general of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, applauded the patriotism and resilience that Nigerian business owners possess, noting that, most businesses have embarked on strategic measures to minimise the impact of the inclement operating environment on their activities such as: cost cutting; products selection and prioritisation; increased resort to self-energy generation and energy mix to complement the inadequate electricity supply from the national grid and dissaving retained earnings to support the current crippling condition.

He opined that it is crucially important for the government to have a shift towards a better exchange rate management and moderate the rising energy cost via better management of refined petroleum products imported into the country.

These among other measures, he said, would no doubt help to reduce the current high inflation, which is fast eating-up the working capitals of businesses.

This is just as the vice president, South West of the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Segun Kuti George hinted that, many businesses have closed their factories to search for other means of livelihood.

“Some are operating on a skeptical basis, downsizing their staff or producing 30 to 40 percent of their capacities, which is not sustainable. Inflation is increasing day by day and disposal income of consumers is being eroded,” he pointed out.