Kayode Shopekan
Nigerian Entrepreneur Calls For Flexibile Loan Facilities To SMEs
National President of Association for Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), Comrade Prince Saviour Ichie has made a passionate appeal to the government to make loans accessible to entrepreneurs in the country.
Ichie, whose manufacturing company produces body creams and cosmetics, made the appeal during a chat with Prime Business Africa.
“The journey towards accessing loans in the country is too difficult and very cumbersome, and at the end of the day, most entrepreneurs still do not get the loan,” bemoaned Ichie.
The Amen National President lamented that Nigeria as a country is failing to see the opportunities that the pandemic has created so therefore we are not taking advantage of it.
The Nigerian government ought to be empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), so that they can contribute heavily to the country’s GDP, and help reposition the economy.
Comrade Ichie suggested that the government in partnership with banks can create a point in the banking hall where those who want to access loans are assessed, along with their documents, to know how genuine they are and the amount of cash loan that their business would need.
The businessman opines that if loan was not an important part of business, Aliko Dangote’s uncle (Alhaji Dantata) would not have given him the loan with which he started his company.
“We need to start encouraging our entrepreneurs by investing in their business, make loans available to them and provide adequate infrastructure for them to thrive.
“I have tried to access loans over time and after meeting all the requirements listed, never saw or received any loan.
“The pandemic led to the shutdown of many companies while the majority of those that didn’t fold up after the lockdown was lifted, are seriously struggling. A little boost from the government would go a long way, to cushion the effect of the pandemic on businesses,” he concluded.
Follow Us