ACCA strengthens support for SMEs

By Chioma Obinagwam

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment is receiving a fresh boost from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA),  a leading international accountancy body.

The Country Head, ACCA Nigeria, Toyin Ademola said that the SMEs have been identified as the lubricant that would stimulate the economy as a result the association has engaged stakeholders that would assist in mentoring entrepreneurs and funding small businesses.

Speaking at an ACCA Summit held in Lagos recently, Ademola said that it will be difficult for most University graduates to get paid employment, hence, the need for enhancement of the SMEs.

” We want to impact the economy in order to have more SMEs. It is all about empowering people. Research has shown that about 60 per cent of people entering university will not have paid employment. It is about getting people ready not for now but for the future,” she said.

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On her part, the Cordinator, Fate School of Entrepreneurship, Oge Nnaife, which is Leading non-profit entrepreneurship and enterprise development organisation said its partnership with ACCA is stemmed from the critical role entrepreneurship plays in the development of the economy.

According to her, the foundation has been in the business of educating and mentoring entrepreneurs,  as well as exposing them to potential investors who have the resources to fund their business.

“We are here to advertise what Fate Foundation does and let people know that no matter how small their business idea is it can become a viable business,” she said.

“We don’t provide funding for their businesses but we provide them with the right education needed to drive their businesses, such as helping them during the process of writing their business. We channel their attention to other sources of funding apart from the banks, such as the angel investors,” she continued.

She also said that although the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) have set aside a certain amount of money to boost the SMEs sectors, she disclosed that most entrepreneurs have argued that accessing the funds have been quite herculean

“Entrepreneurs who have accessed the funds are a very minute percentage. Hence, We recently lunched a new department in our organisation charged with the responsibility of researching on policies from government and how they affect entrepreneurs,” she said.

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She said that the department brought together stakeholders, including the government to listen to entrepreneurs air their experiences regarding the funds. The outcome was that more than half of the entrepreneurs did not know about the fund and the few that were aware of it could hardly access it.

“From the promises made from the government side, they said that they were making efforts to adjust the policies to enable entrepreneurs access the funds,” she disclosed.

Recall that the CBN, recently launched a N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) fund under its micro-credit programme, which was targeted at reducing poverty amongst the poorest of the poor across the federation, as part of its financial inclusion strategy for rural communities in the country.

Under the programme, each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would be entitled to access as much as N2 billion. But the funds will not be disbursed to the states directly but through banks which are expected to effect the disbursements directly to the beneficiaries to be selected, based on conditions which have already been stipulated by the apex bank.