The growth of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria have been curtailed by access to finance, power, infrastructure, taxes and corruption, to according to a survey result shared by the World Bank Country Programme Director in Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Benmessaoud,
Mr. Benmessaoud made this disclosure during launch of Business Innovation and Growth Big platform in partnership with Growth and Employment Project GEM, World Bank Group in Abuja.
The GEM project is a major initiative aimed at stimulating job creation through the growth of specific high potential, non- oil sectors, ICT construction, entertainment and light manufacturing including agro processing, hospitality and tourism.
According to Benmessaoud:
“GEM project will also make resources available to help address some key constraints identified by business, with a particular emphasis on MSMEs, which are widely regarded as a vital engine for growth and job creation.”
“When focus is more on access to finance as constraint, the poor quality of business plan, financial planning and managerial capacity are often diagnosed as being significant factors behind the inability to attract or unlock finance.”
He also reiterated that the current government of Nigeria has identified security, job creation and governance as three key priorities. “For job creation, its focus is on the need to create two million new jobs each year and it aims to do this through industrialization, public works and agricultural expansion and diversifying the economy away from reliance on oil revenues.”
