Stakeholders Canvass Support For SMEs At 10th WPL Conference

At a time when the big corporations and governments are failing to hold African economies together, Africa stakeholders have called for support to small and medium scale enterprises because they hold the key to rebuilding and sustaining the economies.
This was the aggregate of the positions at the Wider Perspectives 10th Anniversary of the Annual Small and Medium Enterprises Conference held in Port Harcourt recently. The conference drew participants from Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Abia and Rivers (BAAR) States. The theme of the conference was Harnessing Economic and Investment Opportunities Through SMEs.
Dr. Ebiekure Jasper Eradiri, the President of All Africa SMEs, who delivered the keynote at the conference, said there must be a deliberate effort to support SMEs if African economies must rebound.
He said lending institution should come out of their current standoff in supporting SMEs and provide the necessary capital to grow small businesses, which are struggling in their investments in agriculture, entertainment, tourism, ICT, artisanal technology and renewable energy.
“The banks have a rigid request and the people can’t meet those requests. Can’t certificates, for instance be used as collaterals?” he asked. He recommended that there should be improved access to funding, encouragement of local investments, and identification of high growth areas in agriculture and hi-tech startups,” Eradiri said.
He also urged business concerns in Port Harcourt and the South-South region of Nigeria to explore business opportunities in Cameroon and Sao Tome and Principe, which he said has close proximity to the region than even Lagos.
The Managing Director of Wider Perspectives Limited, Dr. Edughum Hanson, said the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Conference was founded to serve as a vital catalyst for the robust development of SMEs across Nigeria. “Our core belief has always been that thriving SMEs are the true engines of economic growth, job creation, and sustainable national development.
She said that the SME Development initiative stemmed from the insights gained from an International Labour Organization (ILO) book on SME Development Policies and Programmes and insights received from participation in the World Bank and Nigerian Investment Council’s MSME Programme (BDS Programme), where it was observed that there was a lack of structured platforms for knowledge sharing, capacity building, effective mentorship, and inter-state business collaboration.
She added that the objective of the conference included business education, business linkages, creation of network platforms, enhancement of access to finance, and facilitation of wealth and job creation for SMEs.
She said the BAAR states possessed substantial entrepreneurial drive but often had limited access to broader markets and collaborative opportunities. “Our aim was to dismantle geographical silos, creating a dynamic ecosystem where SMEs across the four states could connect, exchange ideas, form partnerships, access new supply chains, and identify new regional markets.”
The conference, according to Hanson, started in Aba in 2013 and has held in the three other states as well. “These conferences were systematically rotated across the BAAR states to maximize accessibility and localized impact.
The Chairman of Wider Perspectives, Mr. Kalada Apiafi, said the target of the conference is to make the SME value chain a vibrant segment of the Nigerian economy as found in other countries.
“We need to press on with advocacy, and need to press on with creating enabling environment for SMEs to thrive such as roads, trains, security, etc. Tax reforms came through advocacy which was started by Faith Foundation with Policy Dialogue series. Let us not be too quiet. Insist on getting the kind of country we want,” he said.
The conference, he added was also to bring regulators and SMEs together to bridge the suspicion gaps between them. “Now, we bring solving agents together including the regulatory agencies to look for solution.”
Apiafi pushed for government to make budgetary allocations to SMEs. “Japan understands the power of SMEs and does everything possible to push them and help them scale up. Nigeria seems different. We also understand why loans are now difficult in Nigeria. This is because most of those who took loans from industrial funds in Nigeria never intended to pay back.”
He also appealed for the decentralization so that regions can develop at their own paces. States should be allowed to compete and let LGAs copy from each other.
Mrs. Ekaete Umoh, the Director General of Ibom Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development Centre (Ibom LED), who said Nigeria and Africa were still green fields, called for greater investment in agriculture. “Agriculture is so massive and the value chain is very high,” she said.
In the area of tourism. Umoh said Nigeria can turn the scales by making the country a ‘winter Hub’. “People from Europe and America could come to Jos for holidays during winter,” she noted.
Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, the President of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, represented by Emeka Ezekwe, said, “SME is the engine of society and when an enterprise crashes, society loses because people suffer. So, let all of us help SMEs as the MD of WPL advocated.”
She said government needs to support SMEs in many ways including funding and training. She lamented that insecurity was taking a toll on SMEs in Rivers State. “They engage more in the agriculture, entertainment and tourism sectors, but insecurity and instability are affecting SMEs. Poor access to funds and bureaucracy are part of the setback,” she lamented.
Dr. Chamberlain Peterside, the Director General of Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency, who said SMEs were the pillars of the economy, urged them to take advantage of government facilities that were available to them.
Idikio Warmate, the Director General of Yenagoa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, said policy was key in developing SMEs. He identified infrastructure and credit guarantee schemes as areas where government can come in to assist SMEs and industries.
The South-South Divisional Head of Bank of Industries, Mr. Patrick Irabor, said conferences like WPL’s can enable stakeholders to exchange ideas and collaborate on how improve the fortunes of SMEs.
He said SMEs need to look for wider markets to grow. He said the funds available for SMEs in the zone has hit the N20 billion mark, adding that the N75bn MSME fund is part of the N200bn loan fund. “Over 20,000 persons have got the loan at nine percent interest rate. As long as you have registered business, you are eligible. The fund is waiting. Tell your people.”
The managing director of RIMA, Jonathan Tobin, said the N4bn loan scheme was available.
The conference was also addressed via by Rouben Nyepgang, the CEO and First Vice-President on the Board of African Youth Guarantee Fund from Cameroon; Gideon Chomba from Kinshaha DRC; and Henri Kouam of the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute.