BY PETER EGWUATU

Skye Bank Plc has said that 20 percent of Nigeria’s population is employed by the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, as the sector remains the engine for economic development of  any economy.

The Executive Director, Investment and Corporate Banking Group, Syke Bank, Mr. Timthy Oguntayo,, who made this known at the bank’s SME Seminar with the theme “ Its Possible” held in Lagos last week stressed that “ About  32 million people are employed by the SMEs, which represents about 20 percent of the country’s total population. The big firms are always talking about downsizing and rightsizing, while the SMEs are thinking of employing people to build their organisation, that is why they are very important in our society and cannot be ignored if we must have any meaningful development.”

He noted that Skye Bank realised the importance of this sector, saying “That is why we are organising this seminar to get to know their challenges and problems and see how the bank can help them grow. One of the things that militate against SMEs is lack of credit. They need support from the government and banks to grow their businesses. We talk about multiple taxation and lack of infrastructure, which is also part of the  challenges facing SMEs. So, Syke Bank is ready to partner with SMEs and see how some of these problems can be tackled.”

In his own remark, the General Manager, Retail Banking Group, Mrs. Arinola Kola Daisi, said, “ Despite the challenges the SMEs are facing, there are also opportunities that can be exploited to continue business. This is the reason why expatriates are coming to Nigeria despite those challenges we have.”

She called on the SMEs to take the bull by the horns to ensure that they strive to grow their businesses, saying “ Skye Bank would be ready to partner with the SMEs” and encouraged them to open relevant account with the bank to be able to access credit to improve their businesses.

While narrating some of their experiences in the SME sector, Mrs. Bolanle Koya, CEO,  the Wedding Store, stated that beside finance, any person who wants to be an entrepreneur must have an idea that is realisable given its  financial constraint.

She stated that an entrepreneur, who has limited resources must start with small business and then gradually grow. According to her, “An entrepreneur should not be jack of all trade, just select one business you can do well, until such a time you can add other things. I started my business alone but now I have about 100 people working with me.

Another entrepreneur, Mr. Nwobi Chinedu Theo, CEO, Everrise Wire and Cable Limited, advised entrepreneur to be focused in  whatever business they are into. According to him, “Integrity is key to the success of business. Money is not the major problem, but having idea that can really work and then doing it with integrity and perseverance.”