BoI, NAFDAC to drive SMEs growth

The Bank of Industry (BoI) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have partnered to drive Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) operations in the country.

The acting Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, explained that the partnership would see both organisations develop the SME sector deploying the use of standardisation.

The acting BOI boss, during the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NAFDAC?, ?added that 'For this country's economic recovery to be fast-tracked, both agencies must work hand in hand to support particularly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Those who produce food must receive NAFDAC certification and endorsement before they can access credit and the importance of this is that if you do not have NAFDAC numbers, you cannot sell your products in the open market and a situation where you cannot sell, your business model will become defective while your business plan will not materialise and unless we are able to establish that you can sell your products when they are produced, we will not lend to you, because it is only when you sell that the cash flow projections on which loan repayment is predicated is when the cash flow projected can be realised. For us it is very important for our customers to be accredited by NAFDAC.'

Olagunju, explained that in 2017, the development finance institution will see much of its developmental funds targeted at ailing firms and brown field projects, maintaining that these projects have a faster turnaround time by way of job creation and other positive multiplier effects.

'In 2016, we granted loans to more than 800 companies. In 2017, we plan to do more than a thousand because that is one of the fastest ways of ensuring quick recovery of the Nigerian economy and we are concentrating on brown fields, because new projects take about 18 to 24 months to implement before they start feeling the impact of such companies by way of job creation and other multiplier effects, but we are focusing on ailing firms because their turnaround times are usually shorter and as such, they can begin to employ quicker than green field projects,' he said.

Responding, the acting Director General, NAFDAC, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said the signing of the MoU for is a culmination of exchanges between the two organisations on ways to further entrench the policy thrust of the federal government on development of the non-oil sector of the economy.

She pointed out that the collaboration with BoI is win-win for all parties, saying that it is business support plus [BS+].