‘Tough conditions hinder biz from FG funds’

In spite of the many federal government‘s intervention funds for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the funds have been relatively unutilised due to the bureaucratic processes of funds disbursement, informality and the size of businesses, said a report.

The report by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), conducted by Ernst and Young (EY) and presented during a virtual roundtable by EY’s Oreoluwa Porter, also showed that across the non-oil sectors that MSMEs operate, there are significant skill gaps and inadequacies due to their lack of economies of scale.

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It revealed that MSMEs capable of bearing such cost have to face the challenge of having only a limited number of accredited testing labs capable of certifying products in Nigeria.

‘It is estimated that 65 per cent and 80% of import clearance and export processing time are caused by inefficient/deliberate delays by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) officials.’

In a recommendation, it stated that given that the low access to finance for MSMEs is largely driven by their informal nature, the outgrower scheme provides an alternative option to reach these groups.

With an established link between large enterprises and these small-scale producers, it advocated for a unique financing instrument can be adjoined to financing facilities provided to larger entities.

A panellist and director at NEPC, Dr. Ezra Yakusak, said the export council would continue to incubate and support small enterprises involved in export business.