The leadership of International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Country Head in Nigeria, has linked complex laws and frivolous terms and conditions as key factors militating against the ability of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to access capital for business development.
Head of mission in Nigeria, Ms. Eme Lore, who spoke at a conference on “Accessing Capital: Challenges, channels and contemporary solutions,” organised recently by a Lagos-based commercial service law firm, Jackson Etti & Edu, said as long as the SMEs are constrained by lack of access to capital they would never be able to fulfill their obligation as key economy drivers.
IFC further argued that the quest of the SMEs to gain entry into the international market was also being frustrated by paucity of funds.
While blaming the inability of the SMEs to access finance partly on their lack of education in current innovations on financing, she noted that “SMEs often lack the knowledge and networks required to grow”.
“Relative to the contribution they make to local and national economies; SMEs remain under-represented in the international economy.
“For example, while SMEs typically contribute around 50 per cent of the GDP in national or local economies, most evidence suggests they contribute only about 30 per cent of exports,” IFC chief averred.
