Many SMEs fail to access bank loan due to inability to present diligent proposals—Okoli
The Chief Executive Officer of Alpha African Advisory Limited, Ms Sanyade Okoli has traced the inability of several Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to poor documentation during the process of applying for bank loans.
In an interview, she said “A lot has to do with the preparation of companies to be able to access the loans”.
According to her, “The reality is that if you do what you have to do, you will get the funds. You may need to provide some documents. The bank of Industry (BoI) may need to see your financial statements to be sure that you can repay the loan. Unfortunately, a lot of SMEs may not be well structured enough to be able to provide these necessary documents. It is unfortunate that it is just not something that lenders can overlook.
She said her company provides financial advisory to individuals and in doing that they are always careful to limit cases of default on loans.
On how government can stimulate the economy and return investors confidence, Okoli said “I cannot really comment on that, because that is very divergent but I would say that to be able to attract investors, you need an attractive business environment and I think government should continue to take steps that would ensure that the Nigerian business environment is attractive. “There is a global competition for capital and we should always bear that in mind when we are talking of Nigeria as an investment destination.
She said “There are different things that government needs to do for different sectors. It is not a one-size-fits-all. I can say we can always advise government should there be areas advice is needed. It depends on the arm of government too”.
