Business Briefs
THE Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, and the Credit Bureau Association of Nigeria, CBAN have renewed the call for access to credit facilities by Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises, MSMEs, in the country. They said access to credit would unlock the growth and development of the MSMEs.
Jude Chiemeka, head, trading business, NSE, while receiving CBAN delegates, led by Jameelah Sharieff-Ayedun, its chairman, at the NSE head office in Lagos, said MSMEs needed an improved credit reporting to access capital for various projects. According to him, the MSME sector is the backbone of major developed economies, as well as an important contributor to employment, economic and export growth.
He said MSMEs accounted for over 80 percent of businesses and more than 70 percent of employment in Nigeria. He added that despite the significant contribution of MSMEs to the economy, challenges still hinder their growth and development, as they find it difficult to access credit to expand and grow their business.
Chiemeka, however, said the NSE remains fully committed to ensuring that the MSMEs, which he described as the engine room for Nigeria’s economic development, have long term access to finance as it has set in motion a modality to achieve this objective.
On her part, Sharieff-Ayedun said there was need to promote and encourage MSMEs by providing an enabling environment where they can have access to affordable credit. This, she said, would add value to the economy, improve the country’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and correspondingly contribute to more employment and improved standards of living for Nigerians.
According to her, Nigeria has witnessed a tremendous improvement on loan repayment by both corporate and individual borrowers, attributing this to the existence of the Credit Reporting Act in the country. She added that borrowers needed to be accountable to credit they collected, saying that CBAN has, over the years, engaged in education and enlightenment on responsible borrowing.
– Nov. 1, 2019 @ 16:25 GMT |
Tags: CBAN renew call for access to credit by MSMEs NSE
