EDO STATE’S QUEST FOR INDUSTRIALIZATION: REVIVING THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES

Most people in Edo state are aware of the many abandoned and fast crumbling Industries that are scattered around Edo State. These abandoned facilities are evidence to prove the fact that, at one point in time Edo State enjoyed a period of Industrial and economic growth.

These abandoned industries, during their period of operations served not only the people of Edo state as a source of Employment, but it was also a source of job for many Youths from other States of the Federation. I remember introducing myself to a shoe seller in Calabar in 2011 and on hearing that I was from Edo State he began to tell me about how during his earlier days, he and some of his friends used to come to Edo State to purchase Rubber sap and fresh Palm oil back in the 80’s.

In the days of Edo State’s Industrial glory, Edo State was not only providing jobs for her youths but she was also providing jobs for Youths from other parts of the country who were actively engaged in the production and movement of produce from the large farms and Industries in Edo State to other parts of the country.

From as early as the 1980’s a small scale Industrial village was already created at Ogbesan, near Benin city. Its status today is “abandoned”. One would have imagined that by this time that place would have become a flourishing industrial zone but that clearly have not been the case.

There are so many cases of abandoned industries in Edo State that one cannot completely go around the state without seeing one of these monuments of abandonment, however. I am more concerned about the abandoned vocational training centres built during the administration of Samuel Ogbemudia. It is understandable if Large industries stop operations for one reason or the other but the fact that we are not only seeing abandoned Industries in Edo State but we are now also seeing abandoned Vocational training centres is a very bad development for the Youths of Edo State who are supposed to be the one learning vocational and technical skills from this training centres. We cannot continue to talk about reviving of our old industries or deliberate building new ones when we have abandoned one key area which is the grass root training of our Youths in the field of vocational and technical education. If our youths do not have the basic technical skills needed to play an important role in the Industries and factories around them, then they may just end up working as unskilled workers in these industries.

While the present Governor of Edo State is doing all he can to revive these Ghost factories, the Governor of Edo State must not forget the abandoned vocational training centres, he should consider reactivating these vocational training centres and also equip them with state of the art learning facilities to ensure that in the next few years Edo State will be filled with Innovative young persons who are well qualified to occupy key positions in industries. Edo State should not be one of those states that spend too much in theoretical education, thereby pumping out unemployable graduates into the already jam-packed labour market.

The reasons why we need to invest more on vocational technical education cannot be overemphasized. Giving the youths of Edo State the chance to acquire vocational and technical skills would go a long way in ensuring that if finally we are able to  revive our old industries or build new ones our youths will not just be employed as labourers and unskilled workers, but we will see our own Edo sons and daughters occupying key positions in these industries and making key decisions that would affect the lives of many people.

The renovation of the Benin Technical College into an ultra modern, ICT compliant Technical and Vocational college, and the creation of smaller (but standard) vocational training centres in other parts of Edo will go help put our youths in Edo State in an advantaged position in preparation for whatever industrial revolution that our Governor Godwin Obaseki  is planning for us.

Edo State must begin to position itself as a State in the 21^st Century. Our youths should have access to well equipped Vocational training facilities where they will be bred to create innovative solutions to some of our problems In Edo State. Youths in cities of the world today are at the forefront of the ICT arena, they keep coming up with new ideas, new solutions and softwares that impacts on the lives of many. We must challenge our youths to do better by creating for them the enabling environment and introducing friendly policies to support them.

Relying on the knowledge and methods of yesterday to face the challenges of today may not yield desirable results. In whatever step we are taking to position Edo State as  a Better place for its people our youths need to be carried along.

If we fail to do this, then there may be consequences. If the youths in a community hosting a major industry do not get well paid jobs or important positions in that company while outsiders and foreigners are securing good positions in the same industry, then the youths may begin to protest and this would be irrespective of whether they are qualified for a well paid job in such a company or not. That is one reason why the Edo State Government need to hep in the acquisition of Vocational and Technical Education for our youths.

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Central Bank Launches Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Program.

Earlier this year I told you guys that the Central Bank would be coming up with a program to reduce unemployment and to create more jobs and I also warned you guys that you may have to submit some original documents of your credentials well,  in line with my earlier news,  the central Bank have just launched the  Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP) in partnership with Heritage bank. 

 The programme is aimed at harnessing the latent entrepreneurial spirit in the teeming youth by providing them timely and affordable loans to implement their business ideas. It further provides a sustainable mechanism to stimulate employment, contribute to the nation’s non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and address the challenge of youth restiveness.
The following youth, aged 18 – 35, are eligible under this scheme:

I. Serving National Youth Corps members 
II. Non-NYSC members (not more than five years post National Youth Service)

Qualified Business Sectors:
1. Agro - Allied
2. Food Processing / Preservation
3. Arts & Crafts
4. Manufacturing / Cottage Industry
5. Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
6. Construction Support
7. Power & Energy
8. Education & Financial Inclusion
9. Film & Photography
10. Automobile
11. Others

Transaction Dynamics:
• Eligible youth can apply for the loan through this portalhttp://www.yiedp-hbng.com/ using his/her NYSC State Code

• Applications can be made as an individual or as a group of 3-5 applicants with similar business interests
• A single applicant can access up to a facility limit of N3million while group projects jointly owned by 3-5 qualified beneficiaries can access up to a facility limit of N10million

• Applicants can also track application status via the same portal
• Applications will be processed centrally from the Head Office Annex
• Security: Graduate entrepreneurs will use their tertiary institution(s) certificate(s) and their NYSC discharge certificate. Serving Corp members will pledge their NYSC discharge certificate and their tertiary institution(s) certificates(s). Also, legal ownership of assets financed by the bank and 3rd party guarantors will be requested as additional collateral from all entrepreneurs

• Successful candidates will be assigned to ECs close to the intended business locations.
click here to visit the official site and get more info on this program.

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Bank of Industry (BOI) The Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme is here.

The YES-Programme entails building the capacity of the youths by equipping them with the requisite entrepreneurial knowledge and skills as well as funding their business plans, which would enable them to be self-employed and manage their businesses.
participants would be drawn from young aspiring entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years, with innovative ideas who must have a minimum educational qualification of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or its equivalent.
10,000 online applications would be solicited nationwide, out of which 2,000 would be selected for the online component of the YES-Programme.

Eight (8) things you should know before you commence your application on this platform

1. Mandate
The bank of industry targets businesses that engage in manufacturing and processing activities. Target sub-sectors include Agro-processing, Solid Minerals, Information Technology, Oil and Gas and Creative Industry. Please click to see list of SME product clusters that BOI supports. If your product is not listed here and you think it should, please provide information on your product for review by our technical team.
2. Entities that BOI Finances
Bank of industry only finances enterprises or companies and not an individual person or group of persons. The company / enterprise must be duly registered and you will be required to provide the registration number for a Limited Liability Company or business name for an enterprise before you can proceed with your application.
3. Items that BOI can finance
The bank is principally set up to finance industrial equipment used in manufacturing. The Bank does not finance land and building which are expected to be financed from equity. You can also access your working capital requirements from any of the ten (10) SME friendly banks that Bank of Industry partners with at Monetary Policy Rate plus 6 percent.
4. Mode of disbursement
The bank does not disburse the loan to the borrower in cash but to the vendors and suppliers of the equipment that the loan application is for.
5. Amount that can be financed by BOI
BOI’s loan support to the SME starts from N5 million. However, loan below N5 million are provided on our matching fund platform which is operated in collaboration with various state governments and on our Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) scheme which is operated through MicroFinance Banks.
6. Collateral requirements
As part of the fiduciary responsibility in managing funds under its care, Bank of industry requires that you pledge some assets to secure you loan. However, the Bank also accepts other forms of security subject to adequate coverage of the loan being provided to you. Types of security the Bank accepts include:

• Legal mortgage on a landed property. The property must be duly registered with a Certificate of Occupancy
• Debenture on assets of the company
• Bank Guarantee
• External Guarantors with Notarized statement of Networth for loans below N10 million.

Please note that the Bank is willing to share assets previously pledged to other lenders provided the Bank’s loan is adequately covered in the arrangement. Also note that the Bank is willing to accept third party collateral. 7. Startup businesses
While the Bank under its general risk acceptance criteria requires a prospective borrower to have at least three years acceptable performance track record, it can also lend to start-ups at its discretion and on a case-by-case basis. A startup would need to provide proof of cognate experience in its business area and would need to have a highly qualified management and operational team with sound management structure.
8. You need to support your application with some documents
Please click to see the list of the documents you should be prepared to upload while you apply on this platform

                                  culled from the BOI website.

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Aso Villa Entrepreneurial Demo to attract and sponsor new business ideas

Ok this is something we must surely  be interested in.

The president who is very concerned about the fact that some of us do not have a job and as such have enough free time to criticise him on Facebook and Twitter have finally decided to solve this problem( nor fear he is not banning Twitter and facebook) he have finally decided that some of us get good business ideas and as such he would like to sponsor some of this ideas.

The news went like this:

   "As part of the Federal Government’s agenda to diversify the economy and create jobs by stimulating the tech start-up space, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be hosting the Aso Villa Demo Day 2016 (AVDD2016); an initiative of the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria set to celebrate the best of Nigerian technology, creativity and entrepreneurship,as well as showcase Nigeria’s innovative spirit to a global audience. The event scheduled to hold on June 23, 2016 in Lagos and July 28, 2016 in Abuja brings together the brightest start-ups from across the country as they pitch to an audience of Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, key decision makers and other influential businesspersons"

This is part of the many entrepreneurial schemes that I hinted last year will be coming on board this year under this new government  in some of this posts,
Central Bank of Nigeria floats loan for Small Business.
CBN to focus on policies to develope small scale businesses in Nigeria.
SMEDAN promise to seek for loan for brilliant business ideas.
Will Buhari's Government favour Nigeria's Small Businesses?
Right  now, the people in charge of things, the powers that be are now looking for different ways to get you occupied with something doing so that you will have less time to go Facebook and Twitter to complain about their actions or inactions ( e make sense abi?) everybody get to win in this case. 

"Interested persons or teams with grand ideas and prototypes, as well as investors seeking the next opportunity can be a part of this to contribute in writing the next chapter of Nigeria’s economic revolution, as this event presents the rare opportunity of partnering with the Presidency in driving the innovation agenda and setting the stage for the creation of what would become Africa’s future."

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Bank Of Industry to Provide loan for more Graduate under its YES program.

Following the turnout of applicants for its N10 billion facility earmarked for on-lending to small businesses under the Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has concluded plans to expand the fund size as well as accommodate more candidates under the scheme.

Specifically, the bank noted that due to the high rate of applications received for the YES initiative, it would increase the size of the fund from the initial N10 billion, while considering an increase in the number of would-be loan beneficiaries from 1,200 yearly to 4,000 candidates.

Speaking at the assessment exercise of the initiative and inauguration of a seven-man panel to serve on the application screening committee in Lagos, BoI’s Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, noted that out of the 40,000 applications received, 15,000 or 37.5 per cent were properly completed and thus qualify for consideration for the first segment of the entrepreneurship capacity building programme which is the eight weeks online training component.

“This programme was launched in response to the alarming unemployment problem among Nigerian youths. Having noticed the huge volume of registration on the online portal of 40,000 which has far outstripped the 10,000 entries earlier envisaged by 300 per cent over the six-week period, we have come to the realisation that Nigerian youths have enormous entrepreneurial appetite waiting to be unleashed on the nation’s economy in a positive sense.

“We have therefore come to the conclusion that we should provide more opportunities for the youth by increasing the number of would-be loan beneficiaries from 1200 to 4000. Efforts would be made to ensure a fair distribution of the beneficiaries in consonance with the proportion of entries received from the six geopolitical zones”, Olagunju added.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu E. Enelamah, while inaugurating the committee, commended the bank for the initiative, saying, “I am quite satisfied with the implementation of the YES-Programme thus far, considering the calibre and quality of the facilitating institutions. The candidates’ screening and evaluation process are transparent, merit-based and in line with global best practices.

“The synergy created by the consultants working in concert with BoI’s in-house team, will undoubtedly manifest in the quality of young entrepreneurs that will be produced under the programme.

“The import of the overwhelming response by our youths to the YES-Progammes is a manifestation of their desire to take control of their destinies via the entrepreneurial route by being self –employed. It is therefore apparent that the earlier envisaged 1,200 would-be loan beneficiaries would fall far short of the yearnings of the aspiring young entrepreneurs.

“I would like to assure our youths of Federal Government’s absolute commitment to its financial inclusion programme. Government will endeavour to meet the aspirations of youths by providing the support needed by BoI to successfully implement the YES-programmes”.

Members of the application screening committee include the Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, Executive Director, Financial Inclusion, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji, Divisional Head, SME (North), Abdul-Ganiyu Mohammed, Divisional Head, SME (South), Umar Shekarau, and three other eminent members made up of successful entrepreneurs, professionals, retired bankers, SME consultants.

We talked about this YES program when it was launched last year, I believe this of us that have applied for it are now happy to know that it would accommodate more beneficiaries 

Bank of Industry launches loan program for small businesses

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BOI launches a graduate entrepreneurs investment program to provide employment.

Worried by the rising number of unemployed youths across the country, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has expressed its desire to reduce the rate to single digit.
Acting Managing Director of BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, stated this in Lagos yesterday at the Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony with entrepreneurship capacity building facilitators in Lagos yesterday.
Olagunju said BoI was determined to reduce the 25 per cent unemployment rate to single digit, adding that youths account for more than 60 per cent of the country’s population figure, a development he said remained unacceptable to the bank.
The acting MD said for every N1 billion invested in Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), about 4,500 jobs were being created.
And to achieve the target of massive job creation, he said the Federal Government has expressed its willingness to support every initiative of the bank targeted at reducing the number of unemployed youths in the country.
He explained that the YES-Programme is another initiative of BoI designed to address youth unemployment in Nigeria with the first being the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) programme organised for serving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) launched in October 2015.
“The YES-Programme entails building the capacity of the youths by equipping them with the requisite entrepreneurial knowledge and skills as well as funding their business plans, which would enable them to be self-employed and manage their businesses,” he said.
According to him, participants would be drawn from young aspiring entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years, with innovative ideas who must have a minimum educational qualification of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or its equivalent.
He explained that 10,000 online applications would be solicited nationwide, out of which 2,000 would be selected for the online component of the YES-Programme.
“Applicants will register online and will be expected to provide accurate answers to questions. Such answers count towards determining the suitability of the applicants for the training programme. Only the top 1,200 online participants will qualify for the in-class training programme annually.
“The in-class training will be delivered by BoI accredited partner training institutions and shall take place on a bi-annual basis at selected centres across the six geo-political zones of the country, including Lagos and Abuja. Consequently, 600 participants shall be trained at the designated locations twice in a year,” he stated.
On the components of YES, he said the programme involves eight weeks extensive online entrepreneurship and business management training, which has the ability to test participants’ understanding and track their progress.
Others are the Business Idea (value proposition and competition analysis), Business Model (how will the business make money), Sales and Marketing, Running a Successful Business (ethics, compliance, operations), Financial Plan.
The initiative, he said, will also involve technical skill training in partnership with the various technical training and vocational institutions in the country while financing of the businesses will be borne by BoI under its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) cluster initiative in consonance with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s Commodity-based Industrialisation Strategy.

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Relief For Small Business As CBN Allow New Business To Borrow From N220bn MSME Fund

Under the directive of  the Governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele the CBN has issued out its Revised Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) Guidelines the guidelines were issued yesterday by the Development Finance department of the CBN in the guideline the CBN  said that banks and other finance institutions that lends to business start-ups under the fund will be allowed to access the fund at zero interest rate.

The fund was opened to existing businesses alone before but the new guideline have removed this limitation stating, “Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) are required to fund start-up projects under the MSMEDF. To encourage Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), some incentives shall apply.

“PFIs are expected to accept charge on fixed and floating assets of the financed projects as collateral for start-ups. Collateral requirement from start-ups by PFIs (DMBs and DFIs) shall be educational certificates such as SSCE, National Diploma (ND), National Certificate of Education (NCE), National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), Higher National Diploma (HND), University degree (NYSC Certificate where applicable) and a guarantor.

The start-ups to access the MSMEDF must present their Bank Verification Number (BVN). Venture Capital Firms (VCFs) that wish to finance start-ups in form of equity participation shall be eligible to access the MSMEDF at 2.0 percent for investment in start-up projects. The collateral for such facility to the VCF shall be bank guarantee.
“Incentive shall be offered to PFIs that repay loans as at when due. a) Start-Ups (i) DMBs/DFIs playing in this space, shall access MSMEDF facility at zero percent interest for on-lending at 9.0 percent (all-inclusive) to start-ups. (ii) The PFIs shall qualify for a 50 percent risk shared on the net outstanding balance in the case of default. b) Other Incentives Microfinance Banks with PAR of 10 percent and below shall be exempted from providing financial assets as collateral to access facility under the MSMEDF.”

The CBN also reduced the interest rate it charges PFI's accessing the loan from 3.0 percent to 2.0 percent. It stated, “Interest Rates All PFIs shall access funds at an interest rate of 2.0 percent per annum and on lend at 9.0 percent per annum inclusive of all charges. The interest rate chargeable under the MSMEDF may be reviewed by the Central Bank of Nigeria from time to time.”
The decision to allow business start-ups borrow from the fund is aimed at boosting graduate employment by encouraging banks to lend to graduates intending to set up businesses.

You could recall the CBN governor recently said that the apex bank would soon introduce measures to generate one million graduate employments while addressing bankers at the 7th annual bankers retreat He said, “In 2016, the CBN is contemplating a programme that would support SMEs at concessionary pricing to our young graduates. We need to get more people to be employed. The central bank would over the next few weeks work out the initiative to create employment for at least one million graduates in Nigeria in 2016. That would entail the support from Nigerian banks and our development partners.”

download the  Revised Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) Guidelines PDF

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Factors affecting the contributions of SME's to the Nigerian economy.

When we say small businesses are important to a nation's economy, just how important do we think they are? and in what ways do we think they serve this importance?

In a Nation where the Government does not pay attention to small businesses and produce few policies that will help protect and build its small businesses the small businesses in that country will end up contributing less to the nation's economy, why?

Poor policy making: SME's are supposed to bring about substantial local capital formation, they are supposed bring about an increase in rural and urban development but in the situation wereby a nation keep introducing policies that are inimical to the growth and development of its Small Businesses, that nation's small businesses will suffer and they will end up contributing less to the nation's economy.

Poor SME supporting infrastructures:In a place like Nigeria where most small businesses rely on private generators for electricity, the contributions of small businesses to the nations economy in the area of electricity revenue will be substantially reduced, SME's are supposed to be among the top customers of electric power distribution companies but due to poor electricity the distribution companies are being neglected by some businesses who would rather run on generators. If there is a good system of transportation in the country e.g railway, waterway and cheap air travel fairs, small businesses will greaty utilize them instead on relying on private transport to move goods and services around the country, this will not only increase the contribution of small businesses to the nations economy it will also help small business owners to carry out their business in an atmosphere of affordable comfort.

Access to low interest loans and other business grants: access to loan and other forms of funds is also one of the factors that would help small businesses perform better putting them in a better position to contribute to the nation's economy.


Illegal business practices: SME's operating outside the nations economy and legal structure will do little for the nations economy e.g SME's operating on banned products and services, tax evasion e.t.c this Businesses will do more harm than good to the nation.

Poor Taxation system: If a nation is unable to come up with an effective taxation system for the effective taxation of businesses within its borders, then it should be ready to accept less contribution from businesses within it to it's economy.

Indifference to changing trends: When small businesses in a country refuse to structure their business in such a way that it would reflect compliance to changing global and domestic trends, trends and mode of operation that would suit the national economy, such businesses may end up contributing less to the nation's economic growth.

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CBN To Focus on Strategies to develop Nigeria's Small Businesses

the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele said it will focus on strategies to address current constraints to the growth of SMEs he said this At the opening ceremony of the  2015 retreat of the bankers community which took place at Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos Thursday, December 10, 2015. The retreat which is the 7th in its series has the theme: Creating an Enabling Environment for SME Growth'. 

Emefiele who is also the Chairman of the Bankers Community added that the retreat will focus on the key infrastructures needed for SME growth in the country such as the issue of power and transportation, he talked about the opportunities in sectors like Agriculture, manufacturing and solid minerals.

Dignitaries present at the opening ceremony are:

the executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; and the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Also present were Deputy Governors and Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of deposit money banks, among many others.

The following persons are expected to make presentations at the retreat: 

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola; the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh; and the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

Personally I think it is a good thing at this time that the Nigerian bankers community is holding a retreat where issues that affect Nigeria's SME's will be among the subjects of discussions.

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SMEDAN Promise to Seek Finance for Brilliant Business Ideas and Bankable Business Plan

SMEDAN is notifying people with brilliant and innovative business ideas with a reliable business plan to contact them for financing. this information was placed in their website at http://www.smedan.gov.ng/

this was exactly how the Notification went:

  This is a special announcement from SMEDAN

 Do you have a good business idea?
 Have you a bankable business plan supporting the idea(s)?
 Do you also belong to a registered and functioning Cooperative society with feasible businesses?
 SMEDAN will provide you access to business finance through our partners.
 For more information, contact us at No 35 Port Harcourt Crescent off Gimbiya Street Garki Abuja or at SMEDAN Zonal offices across the six geo-political zones.

You can also visit our state offices throughout the federation or info@smedan.gov.ng

Remember, a good business plan is an essential roadmap for business success.

I think it would cause no harm to try this one oya make una start  write business plan make we see either this people go favor us.

 SMEDAN(Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency Of Nigeria) is the agency estabished in 2003, to promote and develop an efficient structure through which Nigerian SME's can contribute to the Nations economy.

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See How Important Your Small Business Is To The Nigerian Economy.

According to the Central Bank Of Nigeria in its monetary policy circular  No 22 of 1988 it defined SME's( small medium enterprises) as business having a turnover not exceeding 500,000 Naira, also in 1990 Nigerian Commercial Banks defined SME's as companies with not exceeding 500,000 as total income.

Running your small business without getting any attention or support from government you may begin to question the importance of your business to the Nations overall economy but that is not always the case, small businesses are the bedrock of any Nations Economy. The SME sector is responsible for about 70% of the total industrial employment in Nigeria and between 10-15% of the manufacturing output, even the Nigerian Agricutural sector is comprised mainly of SME's and it is the sector promoting indegenous technology and innovative use of local raw materials. your small business is the greatest hope for the Nigerian Economy.

Small businesses like your own are very important for rural and urban development, The 2012 enterprise baseline survey revealed that there are about 17 million Small and Medium Scale Enterprise in Nigeria employing about 32.41million persons and contributing about 46.54% to the Nations GDP.

Small businesses are vital to any Nations Economy and this is the reason why Government of Nations always provide policies that serves to protect and develop their SME's.

SMEDAN(Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency Of Nigeria) is the agency estabished in 2003, to promote and develop an efficient structure through which Nigerian SME's can contribute to the Nations economy.

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Factors Affecting The Cost Of Setting Up A Business In Nigeria

Doing Business in Nigeria is not easy and it may even get harder considering recent events, the devaluation of the nations currency, the gradual drop in crude oil price which is greatly affecting the nations economy, and the incoherent policy of the present administration towards the development of SME's in the country, this article will try to explain the factors that influence the start-up capitals of small businesses in Nigeria.

1.National Economy: Businesses operating within a Nation will be affected by the nations economy, if inflation is high in the nation then the cost of doing business in that country will increase because with high inflation comes an increase in the cost of raw materials that is needed by small businesses. just like other developing Nations Nigeria inflation rate is high rising from 6.8% in January to 8.7% in October 2015. This mean that SME owners will have to pay more for raw materials in order to keep their business going. When running business in a country where there is rising inflation business owners are faced with the uncomfortable dilemma of either increasing the cost of their product and services or accepting a reduction in profit and interest from sales.

2.Lack of Infrastructure: The lack of good roads, electricity, water, communication, internet facility and other basic infrastructure. Every business needs at least one or all of this infrastructures to function properly so in a situation where this is not readily available in the country or at your business location you may have to expand your business start-up capital to make provisions for this basic infrastructures, take for example if you were not planning on buying a generator set before you may need to make arrangement for that when planning to set up your business in Nigeria because of the very poor electricity distribution in the country. If you are setting up a business that is reliant on constant supply of water you may have to make private provisions for that too, and of course if your business will need the use of internet connection then you will have to make private plans for that while calculating your start-up capital.

3.The legal factors: The laws of Nigeria affects all businesses within Nigeria, and this includes the laws guiding taxation, payment of necessary bills and the law guiding the registration of companies as executed by the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) the Agency in charge of the registration of companies in Nigeria. you cannot do business comfortably or successfully in Nigeria without first obeying the rules and principles of the country. for one to have his or her business legally registered in Nigeria one would have to register with the corporate affairs commission (CAC), the cost of registering businesses is fixed by CAC and it ranges from 5000+NGN, depending on the type of business you are planning to register.

4.Value of the Naira: Nigeria being mainly importation dependent most of the materials that may be needed for starting a business in the country may have to be sourced from abroad and when buying from abroad the value of your local currency matters a lot, if your currency is of low value you may have to pay more for products that you buy from abroad. so as the Nigerian Naira is depreciating the cost of doing import based businesses in Nigeria is also increasing.

5.Cost of Renting Office spaces and shops: When you go to big Nigerian cities like Abuja, Lagos, PHacourt, Calabar, Kaduna you will find out that the cost of renting just a few feets of business space is very expensive, take for example at Ademola Crescent Wuse II Abuja you will be very lucky to get a lock up shop space for anything less that 500,000 naira. so as big cities develop the cost doing business in them also increases.
Your start up cost can be affected by many factors most especially by the ones highlighted here.

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Will Buhari's Administration Favor Nigerian Small Businesses?

The last administration under President Goodluck Jonathan introduced several policies to enhance the growth in the Nigerian Small Medium Enterprise sector and one remarkable example was the YOUWIN Program and other programs, some of these SME oriented programs have since been abandoned by the present administration whose main focus is on the fight against corruption.

It is not too early to say that Buhari's administration may not favor the Nations struggling SME sector considering the Presidents body language towards policies that affects Small Businesses, first a Ban was placed on the importation of small generators which is the main stay of most of the Small Businesses in the country, a nation which is faced with severe electricity distribution problems, most Nigerian Businesses run on generators all through their Business hours and as if running a business in Nigeria was not hard already the Controller of Federation Operation Unit Zone A of the Nigerian Customs came out on Tuesday , November 17,2015 to announce that the federal government had placed a ban on the importation of low cost generators(i better pass my neigbour) due to the adverse effect it has on the environment, that was Buhari's first body language that suggested his policies may not be too fair to small businesses in Nigeria.

7 months after the inauguration of the new Government the President still haven't shown any sign of having a coherent policy directed at boosting Small Medium Enterprises in the country and in effect creating employment. Several commentators like Opara Prince from Naij.com and other commentators from Nairaland.com criticized this policy and described it as " a targeted action against a significant amount of some unfortunate /distinguished groups...most especially SME's.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commision under this present Administration is presently considering the increase of electricity tariff in 2016, this would mean that Nigerian Citizens and Business owners may have to pay more for electricity in the coming year.

The Present Administration is working towards removing fuel subsidy in 2016, this would have certain implications on Nigerian Businesses and Citizens as they will have to pay more for petrol and kerosine. those who live in Nigeria know how much the Nigerian People spend daily on petroleum to power their homes and businesses even while there is still fuel subsidy, most of us small business owners do not want to know what doing business in Nigeria would look like with a ban being placed on the importation of small generators, fall in Naira value and removal of fuel subsidy.

If the President continue with this kind of policy or "body language" towards SME's it may become harder to do Business in Nigeria under this administration.

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How the drop in Naira value might affect your Small scale Business

Nigeria is one of the most affected countries by the falling oil prices, this is simply because Nigeria depends on its trade in oil and gas for finance, so as the oil prices fall, our Naira will be devalued to meet up with global realities, Nigeria is solely dependent on importation of finished products and a lot of young Small Medium Enterprises may directly or indirectly be running a mini importation business or a business that is importation reliant.

When a nation devalues her currency she is deliberately trying to increase gain in tradable items but however cost of goods and services will become very cheap in the country compared to the other nations with stable currency, so when you want to use your currency to purchase from other Countries whose currency still have value e.g China, U.S, Japan and Germany, you will have to pay more every good you buy, take for example those running a mini importation Business that is reliant on buying things from China or the United States, if you were using 15,500 NGN to buy a 100 USD worth of product 2 years ago as the Nigerian currency is being continously devalued you may end up paying up to 20,000NGN for the same product in 2015.

So the fall in Naira value comes with certain implications for Nigerian Small Business owners and i think what Nigerian Importation based businesses need to be doing right now is to start seeking for locally available alternatives to foreign products e.g raw materials and some selected finished products that could be sourced locally.

The year 2016 may not come with new miracles for the Nigerian Naira or the Economy as the gradual fall in crude oil price is digging a deep hole in the nations economy and crude oil price is still even being predicted to fall further.for SME owners, the importation based businesses, internet businesses and bureau de change officials will be the worst hit by this development. And i think we should all gear up for 2016 because in 2016 comes more struggle.

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Increase in Start-up cost for Nigerian Small Businesses as Government Ban the use of small Generators.

a small sized power Generating set

There are sometimes when Government would make some decisions and we will begin to wonder if they like us at all. Nigeria is known for one thing and that is poor electricity supply to its people and to its Industries and Businesses, this had been a major challenge for small Businesses But as they always say "in Naija Man must survive" so Small Businesses in Nigeria have to found a way of solving this problem by purchasing small power generators popularly known as "i pass my neighbour Generator" in Nigeria.

This have been the major power source for Nigerian Small Businesses but things are about to change, but with the recent ban of the importation of small generators in Nigeria one can only forsee the damage this will cause for our small medium business owners, Businesses will lose their only cheap source of electricity, the cost of setting up a small business in Nigeria will have to increase because newer businesses will have to buy bigger more expensive Generator set to power up their businesses.

this ban on the use of small generators will introduce small business owners into a harsh and unfriendly atmosphere were they will have to spend more to get power to run their businesses.
One option that would have been open to small businesses in Nigeria would have been solar power, but even that is very expensive. so this policy has in effect increased the cost of setting up a small business in Nigeria.

small Generators in use by Nigerian SME's

Government world over are known for creating an enabling and friendly environment because of its important in creating jobs for citizens and its input into the economy. but with this action by the presesnt Nigerian Government people are begining to wonder if the new Nigerian Government  is SME friendly and what the future of SME would be under his Government.

SME stand for Small Medium Enterprises

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