Tinubu’s credit scheme to address `loan sharks’ excesses –FCCPC

By Ginika Okoye

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), says President Bola Tinubu’s credit scheme will help to close the gap and reduce vulnerability of Nigerians to unethical digital loan companies.

The Acting Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Dr Adamu Abdullahi, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

Abdullahi who was reacting to unethical practices by some unregistered digital money lenders to their customers, said the scheme would grant Nigerians access to soft loans without collaterals.    

He said the scheme would also help to reduce the rate at which Nigerians patronise unregistered loan applications that were prone to maiming and shaming their character.

The acting executive vice chairman said that although the Commission had registered some digital money lenders, most of them who were not registered had continued their unethical practices on their customers.

“What is happening is because the availability of loans is not there in Nigeria but you can see that this government through its `Renewed Hope Agenda’ came up with a credit scheme.

“It has now gone into effect but it is only for government workers for now, it is going to address the gap that the apps were addressing before.

“So once we have that kind of possibility in which a person can get a loan from a recognised institution, banks, it will be a soft-loan without collateral.

“The only collateral you will need is your National Identification Number (NIN) and once you have NIN and Bank Verification Number (BVN).

“That means you are identified and people know that you are the one that has taken this loan and they know how to get their loan back.

“When that gap is now filled, this people (loan companies) will sit up and do the right thing or they fizzle out of existence,’’ he said.

On the Commission’s achievements in the past one year, Abdullahi said t

It had begun investigations into some unfair practices and irregularities in the market.

“We frown against practices that are monopolistic, we frown against abuse of dominant position in the market.

“In the competition aspect, we found out that there are some companies that are doing some anti-competitive practices and this has led to a sanction against a major international company.

“Beyond the sanction, the aspect that is not well reported is the aspect that we have made them to do some advocacy in the field of tobacco smoking for the young and under-aged.

`We have on-going investigations in other major companies which we found are indulging in other anti-competition practices,’’ the acting executive vice chairman said.

Abdullahi said that advocacy was a major hindrance for the Commission, adding that the FCCPC was planning to have presence in all the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

This according to him will be done through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with another government agency to educate people on their rights. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

SMEDAN will deploy technology for business advancement – D-G

By Lucy Ogalue

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), says technology is key to ensuring the inclusion and advancement of businesses in Nigeria.

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

According to him, the importance of digital technology in economic development cannot be overemphasized.

NAN reports that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration is keen on using technology to curb corruption to the barest minimum.

According to Odii, this aligns perfectly with SMEDAN’s initiatives and strategy in advancing the sub-sector through technology.

“Firstly, after identifying our small businesses, we are trying to deploy digital literacy so that there will be more funds to fund businesses.

“And then compete with their colleagues or counterparts anywhere in the world.”

“In our assessment and identification process, we are beginning to use technology to ensure inclusivity.

“Both for assessment and we are beginning to use technology to identify our beneficiaries so that the son of a nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody,” he said.

According to him, this approach allows entrepreneurs to go online, apply, get interviewed, and receive resources without bias or unnecessary bureaucracy.

The director-general demonstrated how technology was being used as a scale yardstick.

“Many of the programmes that we do, if you look at this office, even if we want to pack people here like sardines, we can’t take more than 100-150 people in this room.

“But with technology, the training that we give to 150 people assembled in this room, we can give to a million people anywhere around the world, breaking geographical barriers.

“This digital approach significantly enhances the reach and impact of SMEDAN’s training programmes,” Odii said.

According to him, the agency is working on deploying Artificial..Intelligence to host and disseminate its content across all 36 states and the FCT.

While emphasising the need for inclusiveness, Odii said:  “our women are not left out.

“We have created digital, and innovation desks at SMEDAN just so that we can start to meticulously deploy some of these interventions for our ecosystem.

“This ensures that interventions are not only broad-reaching but also inclusive, particularly for women entrepreneurs.”

While underscoring the importance of internal capacity, the director-general said this digital transformation also extended to SMEDAN employees.

“We want to make sure that SMEDAN employees are adequately prepared to deliver prosperity for the 40 million-plus small businesses in Nigeria,”

“This internal focus on digital literacy and readiness reflects the broader goals of the administration to foster a technologically savvy workforce capable of driving economic growth,” he said.

Odii restated President Bola Tinubu’s vision of democratising access to various resources, saying SMEDAN was actively supporting this mission through its digital initiatives.

He said by aligning with the President’s vision, SMEDAN was transforming the MSMEs sector and contributing to a more transparent, efficient, and inclusive economy in Nigeria. (NAN)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

SMEDAN D-G restates FG’s commitment to MSME’s access to finance

By Lucy Ogalue

Mr Charles Odii, the Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has restated the Federal Government’s commitment to ensure Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have access to finance.

Odii told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration was focused at ensuring small business owners in the country had access to finance to grow their businesses.

“The president wants us to democratise access. Access to finance, access to market, capacity development, mentoring and network.

“The president is running an administration where he wants the son of nobody to become somebody without knowing anybody. And this is basically in line with his Eight-point agenda.

“So if you take one of the biggest things that we have tried to do in terms of access, it is access to finance. We have tried to democratise access to finance for small businesses.

“This is because if you take 10 small businesses around the room and ask them what their problems are, I can assure you that nine out of 10 of them will tell you that access to finance is the problem.

“ So, we have started to democratise access to finance. we have started to make sure that small businesses can get cheap financing and get it easy,’’ he said.

The director-general said to address this, SMEDAN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sterling bank to the tune of N5 billion for single digit interest at no collateral.

He said : “small businesses can access this funding for work capital, for work tools, and also to procure workspaces at a single digit.

“We have gone ahead to do the same thing with the Bank of Industry (BoI),  we signed an MoU to the tune of one billion naira.

“We signed the same one billion naira with Anambra, and Enugu state ,with Katsina state, so entrepreneurs in those different states can access funding at a single digit interest rate for business start-ups or for expansion.

“We hope to do this with other states. And in the coming months, we will be unveiling the other states that we have been doing this with.’’

According to Odii, these efforts resonate Tinubu’s vision of an inclusive economy aimed at creating equal opportunity for all regardless
of your background.

He said by easing financial constraints and enhancing market access, SMEDAN was paving the way for MSMEs growth and sustainability in the country. (NAN)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

How SMEDAN is transforming Nigeria’s job market

By Lucy Ogalue

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), says it is committed towards ensuring the transformation of Nigeria’s job market to enhance economic development.

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

While speaking on the strides of the agency President Bola Tinubu- led administration, Odii said the agency had a mandate to grow Nigeria’s Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

“At SMEDAN, we have a mandate for the MSMEs sector and it is themed under Guidance, Resources, Opportunities and Work for support (GROW).

“Now, for work support, one of the things that we do is to help build the capacities of our small businesses and connect them to talents.

“And this is in line to create jobs and by doing so, we reduce the rate of unemployment and in that, capacity of money to do work, and earn a decent living in a country like Nigeria.

“So the first thing that we have done for our small businesses is help to identify their pain points, run a risk assessment on what exactly the small businesses need,’’ he said.

Odii said that it was important to know where the small businesses are located, and the problems they are confronted with.

According to him, it is only then we can start to meticulously deploy intervention that will help solve their problems.

He also highlighted the importance of understanding the needs of businesses across all 36 states and the FCT.

“Beyond that, we have started to create jobs. We empowered a couple of small businesses with tools that they need to start and grow enterprises, by doing so they will create jobs.

“We granted many of them, approximately 10,000 small businesses from SMEDAN have been granted funds for them to start businesses and then expand.

“His Excellency the President, in tandem with job creation has earmarked the sum of N200 billion for entrepreneurs in Nigeria,’’ he said.

According to Odii, N75 billion is earmarked for those in manufacturing, another N75 billion for small businesses and N50 billion in terms of grant to Nano businesses and they can access as much as one  billion Naira at a single digit.

“We at SMEDAN help to build the capacity of these small businesses, we train them and then we deploy resources to them.

“We have identified approximately 12,060 people who have interest and by the end of next week, we are going to place at least 4, 000 of them in high paying jobs where the minimum pay they get is N100,000.

“We are doing this in partnership with one of our partners in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

According to Odii, the agency in the last seven weeks created approximately 48,000 jobs, while expressing hope to do as much as a million before the end of this administration.

The director-general said these are some of the things SMEDAN was doing to support small businesses, to create jobs and to stimulate the economy. (NAN)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Lucy Ogalue

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has emphasised the importance of building capacity and market access in driving small businesses in the country

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while speaking on the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s government in the sector.

According to Odii, SMEDAN has been at the forefront of several transformative initiatives aimed at boosting the Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in Nigeria.

“Capacity development is the next one, access to training. We are very big on training. We train week in week out, month in month out.

“As a matter of fact, members of our team have just finished one major training, which is our National Business Skills Development initiative in Ekiti .

“Where we trained our small business owners and youth entrepreneurs on things that we think that they need to thrive.

“After the training, we then give them tools to enable them start and grow sustainable businesses,’’ he said.

According to Odii, SMEDAN is also focusing on access to the market to help build our value chain in different industries such as fashion and agriculture.

He said SMEDAN was revitaising industrial development centres to enable small businesses access the right machineries needed for their production and growth

According to the SMEDAN boss, many of these strategies will not be actualised when the environment is not business friendly, so we need to enhance the ease of doing business.(NAN)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Victor Adeoti

Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a Chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to give maximum support to the development of blue economy to serve as an alternative to crude oil in terms revenue generation.

Oyintiloye, a member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), made the appeal while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo.

The APC chieftain in Osun said that harnessing the potential of the marine and blue economy sector was capable of redefining sustainable growth in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Oyintiloye said that the projection by Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, that the blue economy could generate $20 billion annually and, also create two million jobs is huge potential to the country’s economy.

According to him, experts also projected that the untapped potential within the marine and blue economy sector is estimated at a staggering of $296 billion.

“I want to commend the president for the creation of Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

“With the huge potential embedded in it, I believe if well tapped, it can serve as an alternative source of revenue generation for the country.

“And that is why we need to unlock the potential in the marine and blue economy to revamp dwindling economy and reduce over dependency on crude oil,” he said.

Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker said that investing in marine and blue economy sector would yield a multitude compelling benefits.

“Not only will it diversify and stimulate economic growth, but it also plays a pivotal role in enhancing marine health and safeguarding oceanic ecosystems.

“By fostering sustainable livelihoods, generating employment opportunities, and bolstering ocean tourism, blue economy will preserve our oceans, while fortifying communities against climate change impacts,” he said.

Oyintiloye, who commended Oyetola for his efforts at tapping the blue economy potentials, said that in no distance time Nigeria would start to reap the benefits of the marine economy for economic growth.

He, however, said that in order to establish a sustainable development in marine and blue economy sector, it is essential to develop an economic and financial system capable of directing financial resources towards ocean related activities such as maritime shipping, fishing and aquaculture, coastal tourism, among others.

Oyintiloye said that with various ongoing economic policies put in place by the president, Nigerians would smile again. (NAN)(www.nannnews.ng)

Edited by Tayo Ikujuni

By Lucy Ogalue

The management of Okumu Oil Palm Company Plc. has urged Federal and State Governments to support the company in tackling the bandits whose activities are affecting the company’s operations.

They spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the multi-million naira company had threatened to shut down operations in Nigeria following a recent attack by militants on its staff on May 6.

One of the recent attacks led to the death of three of the company’s workers inside the plantation.

The company’s Managing Director, Graham Hefer, told NAN that insecurity posed one of the major challenges for the company.

“It is a very difficult task for the company because we are not a security outlet but rather deal in oil palm production.

“So we have to look to the government to assist us in this kind of situation, be it federal or state,

“We need the government to step in and to protect us because that is part of the provisions in the constitution to protect properties and lives.

“The Edo State government has done quite a lot to help us. These workers need to be protected to do their work,” he said.

He said the company was also making efforts to collaborate with the local community to ensure security.

Hefer said: “on our part, we are having a lot of discussions with the local community. They have also been attacked by the same youth. It is not just Okomu oil.

“So everybody is trying to work together to ensure that this does not happen again; we are taking a holistic approach.”

The managing director said that in addition to insecurity, the devaluation of the naira, lack of forex, and poor infrastructure, among other things, affected the company.

Hefer said some government policies and regulations, especially multiple taxation, were other obstacle facing the firm.

He expressed hope that the government would tackle these to make it easier for businesses to perform better and attract more foreign investors.

The managing director said there were no immediate plans to expand the company’s business unless its board decides otherwise.

“At the moment, we have a good market for what we are producing, and we are happy within that market; we feel we are comfortable with that.

“But if later on, my board decides to look into different things, we may, but right now, we are happy with where we are,” he said.

Hefer said rubber production was strategic in the firm’s operations because it is one its major sources foreign exchange earnings.

However, he decried some losses encountered in its production, which he said were also a result of insecurity.

“Last year, we also had attacks. The same people were attacking us last year, so we had to stop our rubber farming.

So we did not fulfil our obligations in terms of our commitment because we could not tap at that stage,” he said.

Hefer, who said the company was keen on quality products, said it was also part of a Compliance Certification Scheme such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Oil Palm (RSPO).

“We are with the European Union Deforestation Recertification (EUDR) and have all of these available. We are also certified ISO for our environment, so we are very cognizant of afforestation.

“Remember, being an agriculture company, it is critical that we keep our soil and environment safe because, without that, we do not have a company,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Gbenga Oyebode, chairman of the company, reiterated the importance of tackling insecurity around the environs of the company’s plantation.

Oyebode said: “we will continue to do what we have to do, and we are working very hard to reduce this incidence of insecurity.”

On climate, he said the company’s activities had no negative effects on its environs, adding that they would continue to plan sustainably to drive their business. (NAN)

Edited by Uche Anunne