The Bank of Industry has said that Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria have received less than one per cent of loans provided by banks in the last five years.
The Executive Director, Micro Enterprise, BoI, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji, who disclosed this at a press briefing with journalists, in Abuja, on Friday, added that 37 million Nigerians were commercially active, but never had the opportunity to access loans.
Adeniji said SMEs employed 84 per cent of the labour force, “contributes 50 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and about seven per cent of total exports as a country.”
According to her, the commercially active people, who are at the base of the pyramid, are traders, artisans, farmers, and petty traders, among others. She said, “Despite their contributions to national development, these businesses often do not have access to the capital they need to grow. Of all the bank loans given in the last five years in Nigeria, less than one per cent has gone to this segment, which constitutes the highest percentage of the country’s workforce.
“These are understandably so because these groups, while extremely hardworking, have little or no financial track record. They have no collateral and some barely have formal identities.”
Adeniji recalled that the Federal Government, in 2016, introduced Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme to support and encourage the people to continue with their contributions to economic
development.
“GEEP was developed for over 37 million Nigerians at the base of the pyramid. GEEP is a microcredit scheme,” she said.
The executive director explained that many Nigerians at the base of the pyramid, such as traders, farmers, tricycle riders and artisans, had benefited from GEEP loans, adding that the conditions for accessing loans were not as stringent as those of the commercial banks.
“The conditions include possession of a Bank Verification Number and a membership of a certified market association or cooperative society among others,” she stated.
