Any country that strives for development must have the support of banks and entrepreneurs, the Chief Executive Officer, Vertrag International Limited, Olubunmi Oluwadare, has said.
Speaking with our reporter in Lagos, he said banks must support Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) because it is the engine room of every economy.
He said in countries such as China, India and Turkey, banks support the private sector, lamenting that the challenge of entrepreneurship in Nigeria is the banks.
“Banks should invest in entrepreneurs as it is better to have 10,000 entrepreneurs bringing money into the banks than to have an individual’s money,” he said.
He lamented that banks have consistently seen SMEs as a risk factor, noting that every business is a risk. “What the bank needs to do is to create a department to handle these entrepreneurs; when the entrepreneurs come to the banks for partnership, the banks should not just give them the funds, but should be part of the business from the beginning to ensure that the business thrives and their money recovered.
“Government can handle infrastructure but they cannot do business because they are not a good manager of business. Government cannot create jobs alone; it is entrepreneurs that create jobs. If entrepreneurs are provided with funds and are able to create jobs, jobless people will reduce,” he said.
He, therefore, urged the banking sector to look inwards, focus on entrepreneurs, and not on the people that steal government money or the people that get funding because they have collateral facility but may never pay back.
He said it is better to have few functional banks than to have many banks that are undermining banking functions.
“Now there is problem everywhere; the economy is not in good shape. The banks should sit down and see how they can channel the cash in their custody to build entrepreneurs. Every business is a risk and when you can’t take risk, you lose everything. “You don’t have to give the entrepreneurs the cash, but you can buy all they need to start the business for them. As you make the money, you will monitor the business as it is going. Don’t leave them alone because your money is involved and you will collect it back with interest,” he said.
He said the challenge with Nigerians is that they want to start a business and make the money immediately; they do not want to be involved in a long term business. “Every business will have a patient time but our banks are not patient, they want quick money which cannot work in entrepreneurship journey,” he said.
He lamented that Nigeria is not leveraging on anything, adding that nearly every sector is untapped, including, tourism, culture and entertainment.
“Most of the people causing traffic are those looking for job, who will wake up every morning, over 3000, 4000 youths are on the road every day looking for jobs. If there were jobs, most of them will be in the factory for months before they return. If the unemployed people are reduced, crime will reduce, government expenditure on security will reduce and the money spent on security will be diverted to job creation,” he said.
