By Nkiruka Nnorom

The Managing Director/CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonwo, has said that the vision of diversifying the nation’s revenue base in view of the slump in international oil prices will not materialise unless the Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, are strengthened to fulfill their role as drivers of the economy.

Besides, he said that issues around dearth of infrastructure, security issues and multiple taxation must also be addressed  in order to support entrepreneurs and prospective exporters.

Okonkwo, who spoke at a one day workshop organised by the bank in conjunction with Nigeria Export Promotion Council, NEPC, the Nigeria-America Chamber of Commerce, NACC, and Nexim bank in Lagos, said that attention must also be paid to inter-regional trade and export facilitation

He said: “You know there are over 40 million SMEs in Nigeria and SMEs have always been the engine of growth in the emerging economies. We need to encourage the SMEs by getting them right; this is the

point in time when we need to get things right economically because Nigeria economy will not survive without the SMEs being at their best.

“You remember very well the case of India and China; the SMEs in those countries are the ones you hear about in other countries. They account for the biggest chunk of employable youths. It is the only way to go because if you don’t support your SMEs, you will not grow your capacity.”

Represented by Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Executive Director, Lagos and South West Bank, Fidelity Bank, Okonwo said as part of its role in supporting the SMES, the bank oragnises capacity building workshops for them, help them with research and provide them with funds to take care of their infrastructural needs.

“What we have also noticed about the SMEs is that they have poor book keeping and we ensure that they do the right thing which is to get proper help from specialists to keep their books well. We also make sure that they have good management. Once an SME comes to us and is growing, we insist that they must have succession plan,” Okonkwo added.

He stated that various measures being put in place by the government to promote non-oil export and diversify the country’s revenue base was beginning to yield result, saying that with the attention the sector is been given, a notable change would be witnessed in at most, the next 18 months.

Specifically, he said the government is helping the SMEs to overcome their funding challenges through the developmental financial institutions it has has set up like Nexim and the Bank of Industry, BoI, which advance loans to them at single digit interest rate.