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MSME
MSMEs crucial to providing employment to growing workforce – Peugeot Boss
Mr. Ibrahim Boyi has called for stakeholders support for MSMEs describing them as having the capacity to absorb the nation’s growing workforce.
The Managing Director/CEO, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Boyi has called for stakeholders support for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) describing them as having the capacity to absorb the nation’s growing workforce.
Boyi made this call yesterday while speaking as the Keynote Speaker at the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) MSME Summit held in Maiduguri, Borno State where he also noted that the current supply of about $3.7trillion is low compared to the $8.9 trillion potential demand for MSME financing.
The automobile group boss noted that the sector (MSMEs) has made a total employment contribution of over 60 million persons and if given the needed support, funding and enabling environment will do a lot more.
His words, “There are five major economic sectors that have thrived within the MSME sector in Nigeria, these are Wholesale/Retail Trade; Agriculture; Other Services; Manufacturing, Accommodation & Food Services. These sectors have made a total employment contribution of about 60 million persons, while 10 million persons from these statistics do not have Western Education.”
Noting that quick implementation of innovative ideas set MSMEs apart, Boyi enjoined participants at the summit and MSMEs, in general, formalize the operations of their various business as this will help them effectively position themselves to receiving necessary support to develop and scale up their businesses.
Affirming the bank’s continued support to MSMEs, the Managing Director, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Mr Tony Okpanachi noted that the bank has disbursed over 100 billion naira this year to over 95,000 MSMEs across various sectors of the economy.
Committing to helping small and medium scale business owners in the State and region grow their business, Okpanachi noted that, “The bank is poised to enhance the access to finance for MSMEs in the commercial city of Maiduguri, Borno State and the North-East region of the country and thus rejuvenated to its blooming commercial city status after the insurgency experienced in the last 10 years.”
The DBN boss corroborated the position of the automobile boss stating that, “MSME businesses owners need to get their businesses structured with bankable business plans.” The perceived absence of a bankable business plan and structure is responsible for their classification as high risk by banks and thereby unwilling to finance them.
Panel discussants at the summit include Romoke Adebo, Founder/CEO, Epicentre Global Events Limited; Rilwan Hassan, Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Scholarships and Loans Board; Fantis Mohammed, Founder, Santis Foods and Beverage Limited and Ibrahim Balami, MD/CEO, IBBA 36 Global Concept.
Business
The FG in partnership with the private sector will continue to support MSMEs – Osinbajo
Osinbajo has stated that the FG in partnership with the private sector would continue to provide interventions to boost the growth of small businesses.
Nigeria’s Vice-president Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during an MSME stakeholders’ meeting, disclosed that the Federal Government in partnership with the private sector would continue to provide interventions to boost the growth of small businesses across the country.
According to a press statement issued by Laolu Akande, the VP made this statement on Monday at the first meeting of MSMEs stakeholders for the year 2021.
Prof. Osinbajo said the Government would continue to support innovation and interventions to deepen the involvement of new and existing MSMEs in the nation, this he said would help to improve the economy and create more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He stressed further that the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan Survival Funds has sent positive economic signals. In a bid to complement the gains in this space, the Government needs to scale up interventions in the MSMEs sector.
In this vein, Osinbajo urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors at the virtual meeting to be innovative in the interventions planned for small businesses across the country, so as to consolidate on the gains recorded in the MSMEs space in the past few years.
What they are saying
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, during the MSME stakeholders’ meeting, said:
“We must continue to be innovative in the interventions that we plan for MSMEs because small businesses are the engines of growth of any economy, in the areas of wealth creation and employment opportunities, MSMEs are very important.”
Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said:
“We really have to think out of the box in our engagements going forward. We need to change the way we do many things, we need to look for ways of multiplying our efforts because the challenges in this space are greater than what we have been able to achieve so far. Of course, we have done a lot, but looking at the numbers in need, you will find out that there is a lot more to be done.”
What you should know
- The Federal Government’s MSMEs Survival Fund grant scheme, which includes Payroll Support, Artisans and Transport support tracks, is a component under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan, NESP.
- The Survival Fund scheme was designed to cushion the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic especially on the most vulnerable small businesses, is a conditional grant to support vulnerable MSMEs in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector.
- The scheme is estimated to save not less than 1.3 million jobs across the country. However, 283,023 Nigerians employed by MSMEs across the country have benefited from the Payroll Support Scheme. This leaves millions of Nigerians out of the consideration of the scheme.
MSME
283,023 Nigerians employed by MSMEs have benefited from FG Payroll Support Scheme
The FG has revealed that over 200,000 persons have so far benefited from its Payroll Support Program.
MSME
FG warns applicants of N75 billion MSME Fund against fraudulent websites
FG warned unsuspecting members of the public to beware of fraudulent websites demanding account details.
The Federal Government has warned unsuspecting members of the public, who wish to apply for the MSME Survival Fund, to beware of fraudulent websites demanding account details, before giving applicants N50,000.
According to Punch, the disclosure is contained in a press statement that was issued in Calabar by the Project Delivery Office (the Coordinating office of the scheme) under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and titled ‘Portal requesting for beneficiaries account details to get N50, 000 not known to us.’
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The PDO is coordinated by the SA to the President on MSMEs, Office of the Vice President, Tola Johnson.
What the Trade, Industry and Investment Ministry is saying
The Ministry, in its statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to the activities of fraudsters parading themselves as operators of the Federal Government’s Survival Fund Scheme.
“The syndicate operating a fraudulent portal with the link https://survivalfund-gov-ng.freefunds.xyz/#1609249530133(https://bit.ly/FG-survival-fund) are asking unsuspecting members of the public to check their eligibility for the scheme by providing their account details on the portal in order to be paid N50, 000 grant under the Survival Fund Scheme.
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“It is pertinent to note that the Project Delivery Office (the coordinating office of the scheme) does not operate any such portal and beneficiaries do not require to go to the website to verify their eligibility for the federal government’s Survival Fund as indicated on the fraudulent portal.
“The website requesting beneficiaries account details is, therefore, a scam. The PDO does not operate any such portal and wishes to advise all Nigerians and beneficiaries of the different tracks of the survival fund to be wary and desist from having dealings with the operators of the site.”
READ: CBN raises alarm over fake tweet posts on N50 billion COVID-19 fund
The Ministry pointed out that the authentic survival fund portal remained www.survivalfund.gov.ng and the PDO would always inform members of the public on updates about the scheme whenever it was necessary.
What you should know
The MSME Survival Fund, which is part of the N2.3tn stimulus package of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan, was introduced by the Federal Government as part of efforts to help businesses overcome challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The MSMEs Survival Fund scheme is a conditional grant to support vulnerable micro and small enterprises in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector. The scheme is expected to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country and specifically impact on over 35,000 individuals per state.
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