Continuation from the Previous Post...
Bureaucracy
in Government Agencies: You will agree with me that the bureaucracy in our civil
service and the way some of our agencies are structured one would spend longer
time than necessary to get certain things done which is relevant to doing
business. Case in point those into manufacturing spend a lot of time before
they get certification from relevant agencies like National Agency for Food and
Drugs Control (NAFDAC) Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) amongst others it
takes years which isn’t healthy for these businesses, though I am not
advocating that strict inspection and compliance shouldn’t be adhered to. I
know a friend who collected loan to expand production capacity and couldn’t
proceed with the expansion process because NAFDAC haven’t given approval even
after the loan was made available and interest have started counting.
Inadequate Knowledge: Yes, experience is the
best teacher, but having a firsthand knowledge of what to expect will help the
entrepreneur prepare. Most people only see the glamorous aspect of
entrepreneurship and are totally ignorant to the fact that like everything in
life there is a stage and a process and having adequate knowledge saves one
from a lot of mistakes. Being actively involved in raising and grooming
entrepreneurs I have come to realize that those who passed through our training
programmes tend to do better than those who just cut their teeth in the
process. That is why I must commend Fate Foundation, Facebook Nigeria, The Tony
Elumelu Foundation and RED Media through their Accelerate Labs initiative for
the good job they are doing in raising and preparing entrepreneurs for the task
ahead. I will also give kudos to the Federal Government of Nigeria in this
aspect they are doing their bit in ensuring entrepreneurs are well trained through
their various initiatives such as YOUWIN Connect and Youth Empowerment Support Programme
(YES-P), they have realized that it is not just okay to hand entrepreneurs grants
and loans without training them. It will shock you that some entrepreneurs
don’t know that record keeping is such a big deal in business.
It is not just okay to talk about the
problems but it also important to proffer solutions to such problems, therefore
having discussed some of these problems; I decided to proffer solutions I
believe will come in handy. Government have a very important role to play,
first by enacting policies that will favour SMEs, do away with unnecessary
bureaucracy in relevant agencies and grant SMEs more access to funding at
reasonable and friendly interest rates and conditions, furthermore the tax and
monetary policy should be designed in such a way that it favours SMEs rather
than choke them to death. Amenities needed for smooth running of business such
as good road network, stable power supply and provision of potable water should
be provided by the government. The excessive charges by banks should be looked
into, while the entrepreneurs on their part should get the required skills and
knowledge needed to face the challenges ahead. The economy of great nations is
driven by entrepreneurs as earlier stated and if as a country we want to be
numbered among the great economies of the world then we should rally round our
SMEs and encourage them to grow instead of snuffing the lives out of them.
Enyinnaya
Iroadumba
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