Following the far-reaching economic reforms by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration in Edo State, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank, has expressed interest to collaborate with the state in boosting the capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to scale their operations and increase productivity in the state.
This was disclosed by IFC Senior Economist, Denny Lewis-Bynoe, who led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Government House, Benin, the state capital.
Lewis-Bynoe said the delegation was on a two-day visit to assess the operating environment for SMEs, so as to fashion support instruments for their growth.
She said: “We want to help businesses and also improve the ease of doing business in Edo and Nigeria. So, the IFC is in Edo to have a detailed assessment of the private sector and come up with strategies to improve their businesses,” and added that part of their assignment was to directly engage with the stakeholders in the sector to understand their challenges, assess avenues for building a support structure.
Acting Governor, Philip Shaibu, called on the World Bank to develop strategies for commercial banks to better support small scale businesses in Nigeria.
“We are running a government that is private-sector-driven. We are lucky to have Governor Godwin Obaseki, who is private-sector oriented. He championed the economic team of the former governor, Adams Oshiomhole…,” he said.