Online shopping
community, Kaymu, has narrowed the top three challenges facing small and medium
scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria down to insufficient access to finance,
unstable power supply and economic instability.
Kaymu obtained this
data from a survey carried out at on entrepreneurs at the recently concluded
Entrepreneurs Club which had over 200 entrepreneurs in attendance.
“In order to seek
ways to improve the efficiency of SMEs, we discovered from entrepreneurs in our
network and across Nigeria, some of the major challenges they face. Ranking at
the top of the list was lack of finance and financial planning, stated Sefik
Bagdadioglu, Managing Director Kaymu.
According to
Bagdadioglu, online marketplaces like Kaymu seek to empower entrepreneurs
financially and this necessitates adequate education to help these SMEs manage
their revenue.
“Many entrepreneurs
go into business without adequate knowledge on how to access and manage finance
and seminars like the Entrepreneurs’ Club seeks to bridge the knowledge gap by
creating an enabling environment for SMEs to liaise with experts in the field”,
he added.
Fidelity Bank SME
expert, Ibikunle Bolorunduro at the event disclosed that addressing SMEs
financial challenges goes beyond access to finance. “There is the need to
understand the SME’s spending pattern, account keeping and financial management
process. Over time we have discovered that the major challenge SMEs face is
financial education and not the finance itself”, he said.
Meanwhile Muyiwa
Afolabi, renowned life and business coach stated that 60% of businesses in
Nigeria shut down before the age of 5 as a result of the low standard of
living, epileptic power supply and poor transportation amongst others,-
functions of the harsh economic environment they operate in. He however
cautioned SMEs to rise above their limitations and emulate successful entrepreneurs
flourishing despite the economic instability.
SMEs are the engine
of growth and catalyst for the transformation of any country and as a result
they require an enabling environment, personal and business development to
flourish.