FG, Experts to Proffer Financing Options for SMEs

The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr Charles Odii; the executive vice chairman/CEO of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida; among other federal government agencies, experts and stakeholders from the financial services and ICT sectors, are set to offer options on financing small businesses in the country.

These stakeholders will be speaking at the SUPERNEWS Nigeria SMEs Forum 2024 conference with the theme, ‘Bringing SMEs into the Financial Services Network via Fintech’ as the event will be declared open by the SMEDAN DG, Mr. Charles Odii.

The managing director/CEO, Biodun Adedipe & Associate Limited, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, is expected to deliver the keynote speech at the conference, which would dig into issues faced by SMEs in running their day-to-day businesses in Nigeria.

The conference will also feature a panel session which will be handled by erudite scholars, including the Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Yeye Modupe Dada; managing director/CEO, Sunu Assurances Plc, Mr. Sam Ogbodu, managing director/CEO of APT Securities and Funds Limited, Mr Kasimu Garba Kurfi and head, Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co., Mr Ayokunle Olubunmi.

The Special Guests of Honour for the conference include the director general of SMEDAN, Mr. Charles Odii; the acting director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama and the commissioner for Insurance/CEO, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin.

The Publisher of SUPERNEWS Nigeria, Ngozi Onyeakusi, in a statement, said the choice of the theme of the Conference was borne out of the quest to improve the business climate for SMEs in Nigeria by leveraging technology in terms of accessing financial services.

She said it is unfortunate that SMEs that form the bedrock of every economy are plagued by a lot of challenges, especially inadequate access to finance. “Indeed, reports have shown that the challenge of SMEs in accessing funds could be traced to inadequate access to financial institutions and education, skills, experience of owners/managers, high interest rates, and gender discrimination, among others. It, therefore, becomes imperative to leverage technology to ensure their sustainability, productivity and profitability,” she said.

The conference, she said, will, among others, examine the key challenges faced by SMEs in Nigeria and provide practical solutions to help overcome them as it will equally explore the benefits of fintech for small businesses, including how it can help them overcome financial challenges and drive growth through technology-driven solutions.