The National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA) chartered, says efforts to register 250,000 nano, micro, and small enterprises free of charge will transform Nigeria into a business hub in the African continent.
Prof. Chris Onalo, Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, NICA, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday while reacting to the launch of the scheme.
Onalo said the plan would make the economy more open by helping young people, new business owners, and even retirees easily get loans to start or grow their businesses.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) jointly unveiled the initiative to remove barriers such as cost of registration.
The scheme also seeks to link beneficiaries directly to SMEDAN’s MSME database for access to finance, markets and government support.
Onalo said the initiative would democratize the economy by giving young business people, aspiring entrepreneurs and retiree’s access to credit. It’s a novel and bold commitment to making Nigeria a profound business hub in Africa. “A clear institutional support for entrepreneurship,” Onalo said.
According to him, once fully implemented, the scheme will boost Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), cut unemployment, and stimulate the production of goods and services nationwide.
He, however, urged the government to back the initiative with intervention policies that ease the cost of doing business for the new entrants.
Registration alone is not enough. Government must help eliminate prohibitive costs. These include multiple taxes, unreliable electricity supply, and the difficulty of securing affordable business premises. “Otherwise, many new businesses will struggle to survive,” he cautioned.
The NICA boss also encouraged the CAC to leverage the initiative to improve its data-gathering templates for assessing creditworthiness of registered businesses.
For MSMEs to access loans or credit lines, certain data must be readily available; such as names of promoters, directors or partners, shareholders, verified addresses, next-of-kin information, and national identification numbers.
CAC must strengthen its database to provide such information reliably, he said.
Onalo stressed that with the right policy support, the initiative could become a catalyst for building a stronger credit system, empowering entrepreneurs, and positioning Nigeria as Africa’s leading business hub.
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