Olusola Bello
The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has pledged the Bank’s readiness to increase its development finance interventions to further support start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
The CBN Governor made this promise while delivering the 51st Convocation Lecture of the University of Lagos, Lagos, on Monday, 5 July 2021. He said that noting that increased access to finance for start-ups and SMEs was highly essential for the nation’s economy to grow.
He highlighted the critical role of vibrant and growing SMEs to the growth of the economy and the creation of jobs for Nigerian youth, noting that special consideration needed to be given to the strengthening of physical and ICT infrastructure to enable SMEs perform more efficiently and become globally competitive.
While noting that the potential of SMEs in enhancing economic growth was hampered by limited access to finance, inadequate infrastructure and poor digital penetration, Mr. Emefiele enjoined the Government and the private sector to provide more support in addressing the challenges of SMEs.
The governor who spoke on the topic: “National Development and Knowledge Economy in the Digital Age: Leapfrogging SMEs in the 21st Century,” he said special consideration should be given to the strengthening of physical and ICT infrastructure to enable SMEs perform more efficiently and become globally competitive.
He said CBN had rolled out massive developmental interventions in some critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, especially in agriculture, manufacturing and SMEs.
According to him, attention had also been paid to advancing knowledge and innovation through various initiatives targeted at promoting youth’s entrepreneurship, research and development.