Analysts have hailed the tactics used by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to open a special foreign exchange window for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), saying it would help in growing the sector faster.
Before now, many SMEs had gone under due to paucity of forex, but some other experts say the idea came very late as several SMEs had gone under.
The window would enable them to import eligible finished and semi-finished items not exceeding $20,000 for an enterprise per quarter.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, in a statement, said the apex bank’s special intervention was necessitated by its findings that a large number of the SMEs were being crowded out of the forex space by large firms.
He said enterprises with staff strength of between 10 and 199 and asset base of between N5m and N500m would be offered the opportunity to import eligible items within the approved threshold.
