Business
Tension Mounts At BBA Int’l Centre Over Harassment
There is tension at the Balogun Business Association (BBA) International Centre for Commerce shopping complex, International Trade Fair Complex, Lagos State, over the activities of suspected thugs who allegedly extort, threaten, and harass traders in the market.
Some of the aggrieved traders met over the weekend to conclude plans to resist the extortion and harassment by the thugs who are always armed with dangerous weapons.
According to sources who pleaded anonymity, this may lead to a breakdown of law and order in the international market.
Some traders in the market under anonymity for security reasons said the current crisis is connected with the actions of a group of individuals claiming to be officers of the association who have been imposing levies on members, shop owners and visitors to the market at a time that the association and its Caretaker Committee had gone to court to restrain this group from imposing levies and collecting same.
They alleged that the group was led by contestants, who said they were winners in an election that was held since June 24, 2021 but only took office in November 2023.
They noted that members are vehemently protesting, insisting that the association was already embroiled in litigation on the conduct of elections of officers of the association when a group went to a hotel and held an election.
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The Federal Government is set to commence the disbursement of N150 billion soft loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and manufacturers by the end of July.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, disclosed this in a statement through her official X handle
Uzoka-Anite said 60 percent of the proposed one million beneficiaries of the Presidential Conditional Grant had received a financial grant of N50,000 without repayment obligations in the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.
She said, “To all applicants of the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme who are yet to be paid, thank you for your continued patience. The disbursement process is still ongoing, and we have allocated about 60 percent of the 1 million grants.
“We are also at the final stages of vetting for the MSMEs and Manufacturing loans. Applications remain open, and disbursement will begin by July ending”.
Recall that in December 2023, the Federal Government unveiled the Presidential Palliative Loan Programme and the Presidential Conditional Grant Programme as part of the Presidential Palliatives Programme aimed at supporting businesses to navigate the economic crunch caused by removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the foreign exchange market which has led to the depreciation of the naira.
Both initiatives require beneficiaries to meet certain conditions precedent to approval and drawdown.
Under the loan scheme, manufacturers can access up to N1 billion, at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum, for working capital with a repayment period of one to five years for the purchase of machinery and equipment.
The benefiting manufacturers are those that have been assessed by the accredited banks and have met all requirements for disbursement.
The fund dedicates N75 billion to MSMEs and another N75 billion to the manufacturing sector to help businesses in Nigeria navigate the harsh economic realities.
Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI) has commended the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, and President Bola Tinubu for their Renew Hope Agenda initiatives tagged “Presidential Grant and House-to-House Grant programmes”.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of the forum, Chief Dakta Solomon Daniel Vongfa, NASSI lauded these programmes for providing much-needed support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Nigeria, including a significant number of NASSI members.
Chief Vongfa added that NASSI looks forward to collaborating with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to ensure the successful implementation of these programmes and maximize their positive impact on NASSI members and SMEs nationwide.
According to the statement, the National Treasurer of NASSI, Dr. Abubakar Bala Tanko, highlighted the positive impact these grants will have on the growth of SMEs.
“The Presidential Grant and House-to-House Grant will empower SMEs to grow their businesses, create jobs, and contribute more significantly to the national economy.
“We are particularly grateful for the recognition of the crucial role SMEs play in Nigeria’s development”, Dr. Tanko stated.
The National Treasurer said SMEs are the lifewire of the economy, adding that empowering them would equip them to expand their businesses and also solve other societal problems.
He called for more efforts by the stakeholders of Nigerian economy towards empowering SMEs and also creating enabling environment for businesses to strive in the country.
Lilian Peters
Wema Bank has charged stakeholders to prioritise digital empowerment for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as a measure for championing a sustainable MSME ecosystem in Nigeria.
The pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank gave the charge at the International MSMEs Day and MSME Awards Night 2024, a two-fold event organised by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Office of the Vice President in commemoration of the Day
The event, which was held in Abuja, not only acknowledged the successes in the Nigerian MSME Sector, but also targets developing sustainable solutions for the continuous growth and development of the sector, to ultimately boost the Nigerian economy.
The programme, themed “Call to Action: Provision of Sustainable Single-Digit Loans for MSME”, gathered top reputable institutions and entities to brainstorm and proffer sustainable financial solutions in providing affordable loans and funding for MSMEs, in addition to ensuring that these financial solutions are easily accessible and available to MSMEs.
The Bank’s Executive Director of Retail and Digital Business, Tunde Mabawonku, who represented Wema Bank’s MD/CEO, Moruf Oseni, further emphasised the pressing need to prioritise technology and digital empowerment to complement, “capacity development, financial empowerment and collaborative efforts, towards building a supportive ecosystem for MSMEs to thrive.
“At Wema Bank, our approach is ‘Give a man fish, he will come back, but teach a man to fish, he will learn to fend for himself and others’.
“Technology and digital are the future, and intelligence is here to stay. What we are doing for these MSMEs is beyond providing the finances they need. We are also focusing on empowering them with relevant and transferrable digital skills to ensure they are not left behind in this digital evolution.
“We often ask ourselves what are the skills they need to sell in this fast-growing digital world? To operate effectively? To compete? To maximise the resources at their disposal? These are the questions that drive us at Wema Bank.
“The goal is digital empowerment for scale and to maximise our impact, we continue to partner with several esteemed bodies and institutions across the world, from Banks to Agencies, Regulatory organisations, etc.
“Collaboration for us is continuous so from small alliances that allow us to empower smaller businesses through significant platforms within their ecosystem to the bigger partnerships like the FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme.
“We will continue to combine efforts and pool resources together to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, provide financial support and other resources that these businesses need and empower them to skillfully utilise the resources available to them for maximum impact and growth”.
Wema Bank continues to prove its mettle not just as an enabler for MSMEs, but also as the partner of choice for all.
At the event, the Bank also awarded a brand-new car to the female winner of the “Outstanding MSME Clinic” award category, in addition to the N2,000,000 prize slated for this category.
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