Having travelled far and wide, the state of  SMEs and entrepreneurship in Nigeria has given Emmanuel Excel Ogbeide a great concern. He is the CEO, Business Builders Limited, a leading international business development, SME training and consulting, research and information based firm with passion in career,  business and education empowerment. He is also the founding President, Nigeria-Latvia Business Association, consulting to several organisations including the Nigeria-Lithuania  Business Council.

In this interview with Moses Nosike, Ogbeide complained the pace at which SMEs is growing  in the country calls for a review.

SMEs in Nigeria…

•Emmanuel Ogbeide

Without mincing words, Small and Medium Enterprises are the backbone of any economy and the primary source of job creation. Therefore it must be given a due attention and support it deserves in order to make meaningful impacts in the growth and development of Nigerian economy. In developed countries I have visited, governments pay a lot attention to SMEs and entrepreneurial developments, and results got from such empowerments have tremendously helped in developing their economies. Our process of development is low and it’s affecting the growth of the economy.

However, there are several steps and measures to be put in place that would develop or advance the course of SMEs operation in Nigeria. All stakeholders should work in harmony towards achieving these goals in the country.

Ì advise that Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), saddled with the responsibility of development and administration of SMEs in Nigeria be more visible and proactive – drawing the attention of government closer to SME operators in the country. This can be done if SMEDAN should make her presence in major cities of the states available. This can be done by opening more offices in local governments or even maintain offices in all public tertiary institutions nationwide.

SMEDAN should be empowered and charged to do more than it is currently doing. SMEs support institutions should be brought closer to the SMEs practitioners.  For instance, the Small Business Administration of America (SBA) has over nine hundred (900) offices strategically positioned across the US and they are divided into four major categories, and they provide small businesses the necessary supports. They have regional offices, districts  making sure SMEs’operations run smoothly in terms of training and other empowerment. I suggest the Nigerian government should borrow a leaf from this laudable initiative of the U.S Government.

SMEs’ access to finance, information and training…

For SMEs’ to develop and create jobs in Nigeria, financial institutions should create more SME  friendly financial supports. I am advocating SME operators and its associations should have better access to financing  or if possible grant other forms of emergency funding  with single digit interest rate.  As a consultant, I can tell you that the major challenge facing the business people in this category is the challenge of accessing funds for business start ups, expansion and resuscitation.

However, access to information is very important in the operation of SMEs. A good number of  them are artisans, rural dwellers, people who are not necessarily literate who did not posses formal education or certifications and as such do not  have access to adequate information but need support from  government and other trade support institutions.

Therefore, seasonal training and retraining should be implored to boost their operations. We are in the era of rapid technological advancement and social media revolution, so entrepreneurs need to  be more creative and innovative.

What government should do to support SMEs in Nigeria…

Government and all levels should formulate trade support policies and advocacy programmes geared towards promoting the SMEs and related industries. Policies of this kind will make it easier for SMEs to grow and prosper through exports promotion opportunities and foreign market penetration programmes.

Further more, there is need to establish an SME monitoring committee that would ensure policy making and enforcement better serve small- and medium-sized enterprises. I am looking  forward to the President of Nigeria elevating the representative of SME sector  into the Cabinet, thus making administrator of the small and medium scale enterprises a cabinet-level position in government.