Abuja- Stakeholders in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector, have appealed for government and private sector’s partnership to drive the MSME Trust Fund Initiative.
Dr Abdalla Yakub, the Executive Director, Africa Rural Development Company Ltd. (AFRIDECO), made the appeal at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Yakub said MSME stakeholders established a trust fund that would benefit people in the grassroots but the government and private sector’s support was essential to boost the initiative.
He said the essence of the fund was to gather resources to ensure it reached the bottom of the pyramid where such funds were needed.
“ We have pulled ourselves together to establish this initiative and we are asking the government to come in and partner with us and also the private sector.
“There has been a general approach in this nation about intervention funds and it has always been a top-down approach.
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“The very basis of this conference is that there is now a bottom-up approach where we start from the person in the village to come to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and then to the presidency.
“Our job is to invest these funds and continue to circulate this fund so that it will stimulate the MSME and the members that are within this urban wealth,’’ he said.
According to him, there is a platform for that seed fund to grow and stimulate the economy and that is why it needs the partnership.
Yakub said the required capacity building to meet the CBN standard and the international community was subsumed in the MSME development financial institution of the trust fund.
He explained that the MyCard Cash Passport that was also included in the initiative provided an avenue that would help to hasten financial inclusion in the country.
“ On the MyCard Cash Passport, we have included a set of benefits and one of them which is very critical to the people is health.
“ There will be community health-based insurance.
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“We are going to ensure that old men and women that are our members who do not have money can go to this community health and be treated under health insurance.
“On security, there is security challenge in this country; when you are our member, you will be given a four digit number which you can call for prompt response during emergencies.
“Through these things, we intend to cajole people to bring them on board into the trust fund,’’ he said.
The President, National Association of Micro Finance Banks (NAMB), Mr Valentine Whensu, said the initiative would help to create more jobs than that anticipated by President Goodluck Jonathan.
According to him, the synergy of the institutions that are coming together will be able to drive the economy.
“ President Goodluck Jonathan is saying that we will be able to provide 2 million employments, but we are saying that this place alone can generate about 20 million employments in a year.
“ The ultimate benefit for us is to encourage the government financial inclusion strategy to ensure that people who are out there are back into financial net,’’ he said.
Whensu said that the funds would be given on a collective basis to groups, societies and cooperatives to ensure sustainability of projects in the economy.
He stressed that the funds would help better the standard of living of the Nigerians.
“ We are not going to collect this money and give it directly to the recipients; there are structures like the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria that the funds will be channeled through.
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“This things are aimed at sustaining and having a lasting initiative in our country; so we can move forward and I think we are beginning to get it right.
“ This initiative and collaborations will help increase the standard of living of Nigerians which is the essence of this trust fund,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the trust fund is slated to commence on Jan. 15, projecting 30 million clients in the first quarter of the year.
It is also to be facilitated and will be coordinated by AFRIDECO. (NAN)
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