Nairametrics| More Nigerians are groaning out loud by the day over the situation of things in the country as the recession has gone in deep and is making life quite difficult for most Nigerians. Appzone’s Executive director, Business Operations and Expansion, Emeka Emetarom has however come out to say that the recession is actually a blessing to Nigeria because it helps Nigerians spur innovations.
Emeratom said that the job losses, increased dollar exchange rate, and the general fighting spirit of the average Nigerian all combine to create an atmosphere of new opportunity and stimulate the rise of several small cottage industries which will produce cheaper, local alternatives to the imported items many Nigerians can no longer afford.
To buttress this point, Emeratom spoke of a female entrepreneur he recently met. She produces leather belts out of her backyard. The quality felt like the kind I would expect to see a “made in Italy” sticker on, but to my surprise and total delight, it said “made in Lagos.”
He, however agreed that the recession was not palatable to majority of Nigerians, including microfinance institutions. “The recession has hit the microfinance industry hard as it has all other sectors. The reduced economic activity almost directly translates to increased loan default rates not just MFBs, but across all banks actually.”
Could we get a reference to this leather belt maker? Or get her to list at least, on GTB’s SMEMarketHub.