The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has lamented the inability of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises in the South-East and South-South to access the N520bn provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria to boost small businesses in the country.
The Rivers/Bayelsa State Chairman of
MAN, Mr. Charles Beke, said the situation could affect the development
of the SMEs in the two geo-political zones if nothing was done to
address it.
Beke spoke in Port Harcourt on Monday
while briefing journalists on the forthcoming first made-in-Nigeria
exhibition to be held in the Rivers State capital on October 28 and 29,
2015.
He said that a financial analyst, Mazi
Sam Ohuabunwa, who would be a guest speaker at the event, would be
talking to the SME operators on how to access the CBN fund.
Ohuabunwa, according to him, will
specifically be delivering the lecture entitled: ‘CBN bailout funds for
SMEs: Dismantling the roadblocks’.
Beke said, “You are aware that the
Central Bank of Nigeria has set aside N520bn to help in revamping many
micro, small and medium-scale enterprises across the country.
“Unfortunately,
our investigation shows that many of the SMEs in the South-South and
South-East regions of this country have not accessed this very important
fund meant to help bring a bigger industrial base in our country.
“We are happy to announce to you that a
distinguished financial analyst, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, the Lead Consultant
at the Star Team Consult, Lagos, is the guest speaker. His lecture will
throw light on how to access the fund and the measures required to
benefit from the fund.”
He, however, called on the SME operators
to take advantage of the made-in-Nigeria exhibition organised by MAN
and avail themselves of the opportunity of getting information on how to
access funds from the CBN.
“We, therefore, invite many operators of
SMEs to come and listen and gain knowledge that will help them set up
or manage their small enterprises. We have also invited the commercial
banks that give out the loans to speak on the issue for the benefit of
all SME operators,” Beke added.
Credit: Punch
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