1 day Ago By Guardian Nigeria
To support micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) growth, the government must facilitate access to affordable funding by collaborating with financial institutions to develop MSME-friendly loan products with lower interest rates and simplified application processes. Speaking in Lagos, President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Gabriel Idahosa, regretted that MSMEs in Nigeria are confronted with significant challenges, including inadequate access to finance and unreliable power supply. He said a recent PwC survey revealed that 35 per cent of businesses identified limited financing as their primary growth inhibitor, while 21 per cent highlighted poor electricity as a major operational hurdle.
These constraints, he said, have continually stifled the growth potential of MSMEs, which are vital contributors to Nigeria’s GDP and employment. He also urged the government to invest in reliable power infrastructure or provide incentives for alternative energy solutions to alleviate the energy challenges faced by small businesses, saying this would enable them to operate efficiently and competitively. “We urge the government to spearhead transformative reforms in the manufacturing sector by addressing critical cost drivers such as high inflation, interest rates, multiple taxation and FX volatility.
Strategic measures should include instituting single-digit tax regimes for manufacturing entities, stabilising the naira through proactive FX policies and leveraging public-private partnerships to reduce production costs. MSMEs remain the backbone of our economy and we urge the government to expand access to credit at concessionary rates below the prevailing CBN MPR,” he said. He added that introducing technology-driven lending platforms and tailored financial literacy programs can empower MSMEs to scale operations effectively mitigating rising production costs, safeguarding employment and improving the competitiveness of Nigerian products in regional and global markets.
“We urge the government to allocate significant resources from the 2025 budget towards modernising infrastructure, streamlining refinery operations and eliminating fuel supply bottlenecks. By fostering energy efficiency and reducing the cost of logistics, these measures will drive industrial growth, attract foreign investment and improve the overall business environment in Nigeria. “We have consistently said rate hikes alone will not curb inflation without resolving the challenges of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
The real sector has demonstrated the capacity to create jobs, manufacture for consumption and export and form the economy’s industrial base. The floating exchange rate policy adopted last year has not shown positive results. As an import-dependent nation, we need to consider better management approaches that fit our economy,” he said.
He said if government harmonises its fiscal and monetary policies to tackle the cost of agricultural production, enhance food processing and sustain the fight against insecurity, inflationary pressures may begin to abate and other economic variables can begin to record positive indicators..
