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Group Chairman,
First Bank of
Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun
Awosika, said
commercial bank had
been investing in
enhancing the skills
and knowledge base
of Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs)
through training.
Speaking against drop
of the clamour by
SMEs to access loan
from banks to develop
their businesses, at a
VANGUARD, THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019—45
How banks are supporting SMEs — FirstBank Chairman
media chat in Lagos,
Awosika noted that
commercial bank
loans have always
been too expensive
for SMEs because of
the high interest rates
involved.
She explained that
instead of jumping to
begin to give those
loans, the bank had
been investing in
developing their
skills and knowledge
gap through training
before partnering
with institutions such
as the Bank of
Industry (BoI).
"What we have been
doing is to invest
heavily in organising
programmes that will
help develop the
knowledge and the
skills of those in
entrepreneurship
business, which form
the small and
medium enterprises
that we are talking
about.
"As we invest in their
development and
knowledge, we are
also facilitating their
ability for them to
have the right kind of
financing for the
business. We worked
very closely with the
bank of industry to
develop the kind of
sustainable financing
that SMEs can apply
for. This is because
what we sell is based
on the cost at which
we get the money. If
you give us deposit,
you expect us to pay
you 13 per cent of the
interest; we cannot
give out a loan at
anything below that
because we are going
to incur cost in the
process."
Awosika said she grew
up in a small business
all the way to where
she is now, adding
that the experience
has helped her to
understand the SMEs
sector well.
13,000 MSMEs benefit from SMEDAN's
conditional grant scheme
Stories by Yinka Kolawole
More than 13,000
micro, small and
m e d i u m
enterprises (MSMEs) have
benefited from the
conditional grant scheme
(CGS) of the the Small and
Medium Enterprises
Development Agency of
Nigeria (SMEDAN).
Director-General of
SMEDAN, Dr Dikko Umar
Radda, disclosed this
recently at the flag-off of
the Conditional Grant
Scheme (CGS) in Bauchi
State.
He recalled that the
scheme was first
introduced in 2017 in 145
Local Government Areas
of Katsina, Gombe,
Ebonyi, Oyo, Akwa Ibom
and Benue States.
According to him, 13,000
MSMEs have so far
benefited from
entrepreneurship
training, formalisation of
registration of businesses,
provision of insurance
and access to finance
through grant of
N50,000.
Radda said MSMEs
represented 96 per cent of
business activities in the
county, adding that 90
per cent of them are
informal and populated
by people at the bottom
of the pyramid, hence the
introduction of CGS for
micro enterprises in
Nigeria. He said that the
process would enable
informal enterprises
metamorphose into
formal sector,
industrialize the nation,
develop the rural
economy, stem youth
restiveness and
unemployment as well as
create sustainable
economy growth and
development.
The SMEDAN DG noted
that the scheme was
extended to Lagos, Bauchi
and Sokoto States,
targeting 6,000
•Maniatis John, Deputy General Manager and Veronica Kalu-Ufe, Quality
Assurance Manager, both of Golden Sugar Company, displaying the Global Food
Safety Initiative (GFSI) Award won by the company in Nice, France
beneficiaries, to
encourage job creation,
business formalisation,
improved productivity
and capacity
enhancement of the
operators.
Radda stated: "The
scheme would move the
micro enterprises from
the informal to formal
sector, create jobs, wealth
and alleviate poverty in
the society. It will also
enhance competition of
these enterprises towards
meeting national, regional
and global standards as
well as improving
internally generated
revenue to reduce
dependence on oil
revenue."
According to him, the
agency will work in
partnership with banks,
the Federal Inland
Revenue Service (FIRS),
business development
service providers (BDSPs),
state and local
governments, insurance
companies and Corporate
Affairs Commission (CAC).
In his remark, Governor
Muhammed Abubakar of
the state, while speaking at
the occasion, said that the
scheme would stimulate
the generation of revenue
Golden Sugar Company wins international food safety award
Golden Sugar Company
Limited (GSC), a
subsidiary of Flour Mills of
Nigeria Plc (FMN), one of
Nigeria's leading Foods and
Agro-allied Group, has won
the Global Food Safety
Initiative (GFSI) Award.
The award was announced
during 2019 GFSI
conference recently held in
Nice, France where
industry leaders around
the world from Africa, Asia,
the Americas and Europe
came together to discuss
the key food safety trends
in the fast moving
consumer goods (FMCG)
sector.
Mike Robach, Chairman of
GFSI Board said: "The Global
Markets Awards 2019
recognizes the commitment
of companies all over the
world to their food safety
journey. This year, the
Selection Committee
focused on the effort and
innovations the companies
have made in creating an
environment for food safety
in the state.
He urged the beneficiaries
to make judicious use of
the funds to be granted to
them towards industrial
development of the state.
In a related development,
SMEDAN has earmarked
N103.5 million as grants
for 2,070 small scale
business owners in Sokoto
State.
At the flag-off of the
scheme for beneficiaries in
23 local government areas
of the state, Radda said the
move is in a bid to enhance
the SMEs and ensure their
survival.
and a culture of continuous
improvement.
Golden Sugar Company, a
major advocate for the
development of the Sugar
Value Chain in Nigeria, was
the only recipient company
from Africa at the awards
this year.
Robach said that the
company was recognized
for boosting its client base
beyond direct consumers
to multinational industrial
clients and reduced food
safety-related complaints.
Standard financial
management for MSMEs (3)
We are in the third edition of the discussions in this
series on financial management for small
businesses. Last week we focused on the issue of setting
up a business bank account. Today we advance to
creating and maintaining a business budget.
Business Budget
For the purposes of delineating the scope of what a
business budget should be for a small business, just see
it as proposed financial requirement in terms of cost of
production and sales or cost of services delivery within
a definite period, matched with forecast income and
expectations for the same period. In other words, you
state the expected businesses with the cost of executing
them and the corresponding cash flow to meet those
costs.
Set a realistic budget for your business to help you meet
financial goals. A budget allows you to understand your
current situation and make projections. Compare
forecasts to actual financial results to determine if you
are over-spending or have created additional income.
The best bet is usually to build on the actual figures you
recorded in a previous period.
This takes us to a periodic perspective of budgeting. You
should draw an annual budget, usually from January
through December and this should be done some weeks
before January.
Then create half year budget out of the full year and a
quarterly budget also. If possible, and it is advisable,
draw a monthly and even weekly budget out of the
quarterly. And like the annual budget create the budgets
days or weeks ahead of the period of the budget.
The other key value of the budget is inspirational and
disciplinary. It is of no value all the efforts in this if the
budget is not ruthlessly executed. Aim to outperform
the budget, driving to earn more than you budgeted,
while striving to spend less per unit of product or
services.
In some subsequent series we shall address the subject
of sound budgeting or financial planning and forecast
for small businesses. But next week we shall be looking
at the third element of sound financial management for
small businesses, which is establishing an accounting
system and book-keeping method.
Speaking on the awards at
the company's head office in
Lagos, yesterday, Maniatis
John, Deputy General
Manager, GSC said: "We are
delighted to be a part of this
year's conference and to
have been selected as
winners. Our journey
through the Global Markets
Programme has been truly
inspirational and indeed
rewarding. We know that
Golden Sugar is enjoyed by
millions of Nigerian families
every day, so this is just one
of the many initiatives that
we have put in place to
assure them of our
commitment to quality and
safe food for all."
In her remarks, Veronica
Kalu-Ufe, Quality
Assurance Manager, GSC,
said the company
commenced the process of
certification in 2014 and
was first certified in 2015,
recertified in 2017 before
attaining the requirements
that finally clinched this
award for it.