By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Executive Director of Jos Business School, Mr Ezekiel Gomos, has disclosed that with the tough operating environment in Nigeria, Small and Medium-scaled Enterprises (SMEs) can never survive to propel national development.
Mr Gomos, speaking on Tuesday in Abuja at the 22nd Annual Conference of Certified National Accountants organised by the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), stated that small businesses were failing at the moment due to tough operating environment, including infrastructure, regulation, policy and taxes.
In his presentation titled ‘SMEs as Engine of Economic Development in Nigeria,’ the business school boss urged government to create business friendly laws, policies and regulations that would needed to encourage SMEs by needed to encourage SMEs by needed to encourage SMEs by encourage SMEs in the country.
He noted that by doing this, the country’s economy would boom and more Nigerians will want to explore their God-given talents for national development.
At the conference themed ‘Sustainable Economic Management in a Recession: Issues, Strategies and Options,’ Mr Gomos said, “Nigerian SMEs cannot drive economic development in the 21st century with 20th century infrastructure. There is need to develop clusters or industrial parks with basic infrastructure for SMEs.
“Also, on access to finance, there is need to make the processes and procedures to access finance less cumbersome and complex.
“We must find innovative solutions to unlock sources of capital, while the need for SME Credit Guarantee Scheme is long overdue.”
Adedapo Adesanya 
Dipo Olowookere