By Henry Uche, Lagos
Experts drawn from finance, management, economics, corporate administration and other disciplines in the week deliberated on how to manage the $10bn stimulus package for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which the former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has promised to commit if elected as president of Nigeria come, Feb 25, 2023.
Recall that Atiku Abubakar had in September 2022 unveiled plans to revive the economy by proposing to launch a $10 billion economic stimulus fund within his first 100 days in office if elected.
Though Abubakar did not say how the fund would be generated, however, he assured it would support MSMEs as they present the greatest opportunity for inclusive economic growth and development.
These experts drawn from the ‘Nigerian Business Communities (NBC) for PDP Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa’, said that they would not want to see this proposed fund develop wings and fly into thin air like so many failed project of this administration targeted at MSMEs in the country.
According to them, TraderMoni, School Children feeding project, and many other programmes failed because the funds landed into the wrong hands which lacked the Midas touch, hence the need to plan for prudent management of this fund to ensure distributive and procedural justice in the process.
Speaking with the Deputy National Secretary of the group, Barrister Sam Aiboni, the essence of the discourse was to put machinery in place to ensure that its purpose is met, saying that every person (s) in the MSMEs bracket across the six geopolitical zones in the country would benefit from the project immediately (if Atiku wins the presidential seat).
“We are taking proactive steps to see that this fund is well managed, there are so many entrepreneurs whose ideas need to be bankrolled -that’s why we gathered experts from the Community of Nigerian Business Communities (NBC) for PDP Presidential Candidate to put everything in the right perspectives just to achieve the desired results (judicious disbursement and management for economic growth and development),” he maintained.
Aiboni assured that the panel would provide a policy document, direction and recommendations to initiate the best ways to disburse the proposed MSMEs stimulus funds for the recovery and revitalisation of the economy.
“Our discussion is to come up with a framework on how the money would be generated and how it will be managed and better allocated to effectively move the economy forward through MSMEs.”
He said that part of PDP‘s campaign manifestoes was a liberal economy, hence the party’s recognition and commitment to using SMEs as tools to recover the economy and move it forward, adding that the group was holding on to Abubakar’s commitment to rejig the economy through the funds for businesses to thrive.
He stressed that basic infrastructure, capacity building, enabling environment, good policies and access to funds by the right entrepreneurs and inventors are indispensable to turn around the current economic retardation.
At the discourse, a panellist, Dr Abubakar Musa, an agricultural consultant and software engineer, said that if the funds were Prudently managed, it could turn around the future of Nigeria and grow the nation’s GDP through MSMEs.
Musa, who noted that a lot of funding by past governments had not yielded any results, emphasised the need to identify key sectors to channel the funds for maximum impacts on the economy.
Advocating investment methods in disbursing the funds rather than giving people grants or loans, Musa said that the private sector should be allowed to drive the funds without politicising it if the purpose must be achieved.
Another panellist, Mr Ladi Ogunseye, a fintech and marketing consultant, who expressed optimism in the proposed intervention funds, stressed howbeit that its success or failure would be a function of the calibre of people saddled with the responsibility of building the system and disbursing the funds.
According to him, if people who understand the challenges are engaged without politics and selfish interests, the funds will thrive and succeed in building businesses and the economy. He sued for a sustainable national policy for MSMEs that “will have a lasting impact on businesses.”
Another panellist, Mr Kunle Ademola-Sadipe, a real estate expert, also stressed the need for the right set of people to manage the funds for optimum impact. If the structure is well done and the fund gets to the right set of people, our economy will be better for it. It should be private-sector driven with the government providing the enabling environment.
“The ripple effects will be felt around the country. It is not a loss, it is a gain because the funds will flow down if judiciously disbursed,” Ademola-Sadipe affirmed. The real estate expert, who noted that infrastructure remained very key, said that such funds would solve a lot of problems for young Nigerian young talents and ideas to build businesses.
Another Panelist, Mr Iwalewa Jacobs, a Finance and SMEs Specialist said that Abubakar should have a stakeholders’ forum to diagnose challenges of various regions in order to better disburse the money.
Meanwhile, Mr Joseph Edgar, an Investment Banker and Columnist maintained that government should stay away from businesses but rather concentrate on the provision of security, favourable policies and enabling an environment for entrepreneurs to do business and create value.
Edgar said that Nigeria needed to raise a generation of thinkers while the government provides the basic infrastructure.
In his remarks, Alhaji Gambo Abdullahi, the National Chairman of NBC, represented by Alhaji Garba Bello, the National Director, Administration, said that Abubakar stands with the masses.
“This proposed $10 billion is for the masses and when it is injected, there will be succour and relief, peace and development. Atiku Abubakar is for the masses and he is trying to see how the masses will get succour,” Abdullahi said.