Early this year, the Innerveil Business Institute and the MicroFinance banks in Nigeria organised a meeting in Lagos, Nigeria with the aim to increase the capital available to high-growth Small and Medium-Scale Entreprises (SMEs) by tackling some of the root causes that limit their growth prospects.

The result was “The Adopt a Small Business Project Endorsement”, meant to spark hope, to inspire action and to help the small and medium sized enterprises grow. The meeting found out that the lower-income segments of Nigeria benefit when SMEs have better access to finances because they alleviate poverty by creating more jobs and better wages.

There’s no doubt that, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are critical for economic growth in the developing world, since they broaden opportunity, increase productivity, create jobs, and help alleviate poverty. In developed countries, SMEs represent more than half of GDP and account for nearly 2/3 of employment.

However, SMEs in Nigeria are hardly funded. They lack access to the tools, technologies and finances necessary for rapid expansion. Thus, the SMEfunds through ‘Adopt a Small Business Project’ aims to increase the capital available to high-growth SMEs by tackling some of the root causes that limit their growth prospects.

SMEfunds.com aspires to combine innovation, partnership, collaboration, information, and technology in an effort to transform the way SMEs are linked to sources of finance. The idea is to have every big business in Nigeria loan a small fund to kick-start a small business.

My take on this

I personally think that a bi-lateral approach should be adopted whereby the SMEFunds provide a platform for Nigerian entrepreneurs to meet with potential investors and help them gain an insight into the available investment options. At the same time, the SMEFunds should invest in the SME market themselves, instead of sitting back as watchdogs.

The Endorsement has already been signed by hundreds of Traders, Sole-Proprietors, Banks, Investors, Business Owners, Business Academics, Retailers, Television Stations, Unions, Professional Societies, Policy Makers, Governments, NGO & Foundations and other Stakeholders of SME development initiatives across the country.

These Nigerian signatories have committed to developing further strategies, especially around micro-entrepreneurs and teaching practices. You can sign the endorement here.