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AfDB to Support Tech-Based MSMEs With $500M – VP. Osinbajo

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the African Development Bank (AfDB) has agreed to support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs), especially technology-based ones with 500 million dollars in Nigeria.

Osinbajo disclosed this on Sunday at the 33rd Inaugural Lecture of Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun. The institution’s 33rd Inaugural Lecture was delivered by Oluseyi Oduyoye, Professor of Business Administration.

The title of the lecture is, “From Small Business to Big Business: A Future with Little Hope”. The vice president said that one of the things the Federal Government did with small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and afterward was the introduction of the MSMEs Survival Fund.

He explained,  “the MSMEs Survival Fund gave almost a million businesses support after the pandemic.

“We paid three months salary of several of the MSMEs especially private schools such as-private primary schools, private secondary schools; we paid for teachers and also for several other businesses.

“I think the statistics will be useful, especially as you further research and work; and so much have been done.

“But as I keep saying, it is a large country; a very big country; in order to deal with all those issues and in order to support more businesses in a way that they ought to be supported, a lot more money is needed.

“And just one final point on that, the AfDB has agreed to support the government with 500 million dollars for MSMEs in technology in particular; so, we think this is something that will be very helpful in addition to the N75 billion, which the government has set aside for young people in small businesses.”

According to him, support for small businesses must continue as they are the future of the country. He said that the support given to MSMEs had brought hope, jobs and opportunities. Osinbajo commended also the Seventh Day Adventist Church for the investment it had made in education.

The vice president said that the church’s gesture was worthy of emulation for other religious organisations.

“The real work of ministering is a work of ministering to the people, especially those who cannot afford to do many of those things themselves.

“The work that the ministries did was the reason the likes of Oduyoye and I are here.

“Because our college (Igbobi College) was one that was founded by two Christian missions–the Anglican and Methodist missions–and they gave quality education at a cheap rate so that we were able to afford it and several of us were able to go to school and be the people we are today.

“So, I believe that it is very important that religious organisations see this as primary in all of the tasks and all of the things they choose to do.

“So, I want to commend the church for this and again, to congratulate dear brother and friend, Oduyoye,” he said.

Earlier, in his lecture, Oduyoye said that small businesses constituted a vibrant part of major economies of the world. He said that MSMEs were responsible for employing more than 47 percent of workers in the private sector in 2019.

He recommended that government at all levels, especially the Federal Government, should go the extra mile to support small businesses. Oduyoye said that insurance should be encouraged to mitigate the losses of small businesses.

In his opening remarks, Babcock University’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ademola Tayo, said the lecture was in keeping with the tradition of the university in which new professors introduced their research work to the world. (NAN)

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SMEs

SMEs in Africa That Adopted Tech For Their Businesses Reported Higher Rates of Sales

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International Finance Corporation (IFC) analyzed data from a survey of 3,325 small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in seven countries in Africa reported that businesses that adopted tech for their operation, reported six times higher sales levels, increased rate of productivity, and 1.9 times the number of employees than non-users.

The survey which was conducted in Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania revealed that less than seven percent of micro-enterprises disclosed that they used digital technologies for their business. 71 percent of respondents reported that there was no need for the use of technology while 35 percent disclosed that using technology for the operation of their businesses was quite expensive for them.

While 34 percent revealed that they did not have the technological know-how of these technologies, 20 percent revealed that lack of access to high-speed Internet was a reason for not adopting tech in their business.

As the world grapples with supply chain disruptions and stifled economic growth following the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic, the adoption of technology by businesses in Africa has never been more prominent compared to other continents.

Despite the ongoing digital revolution that is transforming economies and driving innovation across all economic sectors, the African continent has continued to play catch-up with the rest of the world. Analysts suggest that for a wide range of SMEs in Africa to adopt technology for their businesses, the people need to be empowered with the necessary digital competencies.

While the formal business sector in Africa is dominated by Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), the adoption and leveraging of technology in business is of great importance and can play an important role in accelerating the continent’s industrialization and economy.

Digital technology has no doubt created new opportunities for businesses across the globe, however, Investors King understands that businesses in Africa are yet to enjoy the full benefits of technology because of a difficult environment. 

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Union Bank Pledges More Support for Nigerian SMEs

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Union Bank of Nigeria has declared that it will stand like a pillar behind Small and Medium- sized Enterprises (SMEs) to ensure growth and development in the country economy.

Head, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) Products & Segments, Union Bank, Ayokunnumi Abraham made the declaration at the Business Day newspaper ‘Top 100 Fastest Growing SMEs in Nigeria’ conference.

The conference was themed, “How SMEs can thrive in an age of volatility.”

Mr. Abraham said SMEs needed to pay attention to capacity building and keeping proper financial records as he noted these are the areas that will attract investors.

“SMEs must focus on building capacity and developing the necessary skills to increase their expertise if they hope to succeed in this volatile age. SMEs also need to embrace technology and digital tools as an enabler for business growth while ensuring their books and records are organised if they hope to attract funding from the right financial partner.”

Union bank were joined by other various stakeholders in the SME sector, including entrepreneurs, industry experts, start-ups, and financiers at the event.

Union bank has remained one of Nigeria’s Leading financial institution ever since its creation in 1917 and were awarded at an award ceremony held after the conference as “Nigeria’s SME Financier of the Year.”

According to the organisers of the award, the award was in recognition of the bank’s efforts to support and promote the growth of the SME sector in the country.

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State Govts Responsible For Funding, Approving Beneficiaries of NG-CARES Grants– Bank of Industry

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As the process of obtaining the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) grants is ongoing, the Bank of Industry, BOI has cleared the air on its responsibilities.

BOI stated that each state government is fully responsible for funding and selecting beneficiaries for the NG-CARES scheme, not the bank.

This is contained in a statement issued by the BOI on Sunday, clarifying the processes of implementation and disbursement of the grants.

Investors King understands that the NG-CARES scheme is an initiative of the World Bank in partnership with the federal government of Nigeria to aid recovery of communities, households, and businesses affected by COVID-19 Pandemic.

According to the BOI statement, each state is in charge of funding arrangements and determines its preferred grant sizes and number of beneficiaries across different programme components as approved by the World Bank.

The statement indicates that the World bank chose the Bank of Industry to provide and monitor the infrastructure for the actualisation of the scheme in Nigeria.

The BOI stated that it will disburse the funds as directed by the states, noting that “its role as an execution partner is to work on the end-to-end application and verification processes and present successful candidates to enable states’ decision-making for disbursements.”

“The World Bank nominated the bank to provide this infrastructure for the delivery of the MSME component of NG-CARES (RA3) nationwide. Following this nomination, 28 out of 33 states chose BOI as their preferred execution partner to leverage the bank’s MSME infrastructure to deliver NG-CARES.”

Investors King reports that enquiries on the eligibility requirements, implementation status, and other information on the programme can be accessed through the NG-CARES federal CARES support unit, state delivery agencies, or its official website– www.ngcares.gov.ng.

The BOI noted that only candidates that meet the requirements of the initiative will receive the grants.

The bank added that each state does the selection for disbursement as they manage the funds available for the programme and make sure there is fair distribution of the grants across business categories, local government areas, gender and other demographics which will be accounted for.

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