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The sum of $500m
(about N75m) has been provided to the Bank of Industry to boost access
to funds by small and medium-scale enterprises(SMEs) as well as small
growing businesses (SGBs).

The minister of
finance, Olusegun Aganga, who spoke in Abuja during the formal launch
of the initiative last week at the unveiling of Federal Government
support plan for SMEs and small growing business, said the National
Economic Management Team has identified the two groups as the best
institutions for job creation and economic growth in most economies
around the world.

“These sectors have
the potential to become a major contributor to our gross domestic
product and productive capacity. We must leverage the entrepreneurial
strengths of our people to help them to become successful,” he said.

Though government
has been investing in the promotion of the SMEs and SGBs, the minister
identified lack of business training and capacity, which constituted a
major constraint to access to business credits, as the bottlenecks to
the growth of the sectors.

Holistic development

To reduce the high
cost of business, increase the quality of training and capacity
building for businesses, and the access to credit and other finance for
SMEs and SGBs, he said the launch of the three-pronged programme would
act as catalysts for their holistic development.

Mr. Aganga said the
Enterprises Development Services of the Pan-African University, an
affiliate of the Lagos Business School, would coordinate the capacity
development programme in liaison with other centres nationwide to
provide business-practicals, classroom-based trainings, and business
advisory support services to improve the managerial capability and
bankability of businesses.

He warned that
government will have zero tolerance for non-performance of loans by
businesses, stressing the importance of paying back on time monies
borrowed from banks to enable others benefit from the scheme.

Besides, the Bank
of Industry (BoI) would collaborate with international development
partners, like the United Nations Development Programme and the United
Nations Industrial Development Organization to fix some of the market
infrastructure failures in industrial parks, including shared amenities
and services, such as access roads, electricity, water, sewage,
telecoms, and security.

Nationwide support

The national
coordinator of the programme, Peter Bankole, said a website that will
call for applications from businesses from all the geo-political zones
in the country is to be launched in two weeks, while the applications
are to be processed within four to six weeks for the commencement of
management training for the small and growing businesses.

“We will continue
to support them on an ongoing basis for about a year. Alliances with
various centres nationwide have already started. We hope to work with
the IDCs around the country as the focal point of the programme. We
will leverage upon the comparative advantage of each geo-political
zone, which has already been identified by the World Bank,” Mr. Bankole
said.

Managing director,
BoI, Evelyn Oputu, who identified the existing capacity gap as one of
the most difficult aspects of doing small business in Nigeria, said the
bank would strive to make access to fund for business possible at
single digit rates to help realise government objectives.

“BOI has in the
last five years tried to dedicate more than 85 percent of its resources
to support the small and medium-scale business sector.

“Government’s
decision to provide support through the programme will go a long way to
change the landscape of business in the country. There is no point the
country growing in double digits if the people continue to be poor,”
she said.