Recession: C`River Business community want removal of obnoxious policies in favour of SMEs

Ndoma Richard|23 January 2017

Operators of small and medium scale entrepreneurs in Cross River state over the weekend advocated for removal of all bottlenecks which militate against the survival of small and medium scale entreprises in the state.

The entrepreneurs also charged the federal and state  government to create an enabling environment to boost the operations of SMEs in the country.

Lead speaker for entrepreneurs and co-founder for AACE Food Processing and Distribution company, Mrs Ndidi Nwuneli gave this charge while delivering a speech at a training workshop organised by a Canadian agency, CUSO in collaboration with YouLead project to build capacity of  enterpreneurs operating in Cross River state held in Calabar.

Ndidi a Harvard Business School graduate advised the government to create an enabling environment for the small and medium scale entreprise to succeed instead of creating bottlenecks under the guise of government policy that tend to cripple operations of the small businesses.

She urged government not to involve herself in unhealthy rivalry of any form so as not to force small and medium scale business into bankruptcy.

Nwuneli, maintained that  about 1.8million graduates enters the labour market on yearly basis in search of job opportunities that rarely exist because of non availability of small and medium scale businesses which could have provided a platform for young school leavers to work.

Ndidi who also double as Founder of Leadership Effectiveness Accountability Professionalism (LEAP), called on government to prioritized the creation of enabling environment in its agenda to give a lease of life to small and medium scale enterpreneurship in Nigeria.

“If the government can create a non competitive environment for young entrepreneurs without frustrating them, we will be having thousands of young entrepreneurs as jobs creators in the nearest future.

Refering to one of her businesses, “LEAP was set up to change the mindset of the young ones by projecting them for leadership positions and training them on how to develop their business plans.

`I am advocating for the establishment of a social innovation desk across the 36 states and Abuja with a view to create the enabling environment for young entrepreneurs to excel”, Ndidi stressed.

Speaking also at the event, a Private Sector Partnership Representatives to YouLead Project Committee, Mr Evans Akpan in his reaction said that the nation`s private sector had been in dire need of government assistance to enable it survive and urged government to desist forth with from making laws that tend to cripple the business instead of adding value to the Small and medium scale enterprises.
“The private sector drives the economy by way of mentorship, employment, training, supply chain and production.

“The private sector provides the inclusiveness by way of engaging and training the citizenry in becoming better entrepreneurs”, he said.

Also speaking at the ceremony, the immediate past House of Representative member for Calabar Municipality/Odukpani federal constituency, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo,  stated that for any government to realize its dream of promoting social change and innovation, it was pertinent for such a government to create an enabling environment that would bring a boost to small and medium scale businesses to operate.

Toyo a current Special Adviser on Sustainable Goals Development to Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River State said,
”Government alone cannot provide the needed empowerment for the youths; we need to bring in the social sector to help us drive the economy forward prosperity”,

Also speaking shortly after the workshop, Head of Programs in Africa, CUSO International, Mrs Patricia Wall, in her remarks said that CUSO has spent 50 years in Nigeria partnering with development partners with a view boosting the capacities of young entrepreneurs.

Ndoma Richard
Writes from Calabar