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There are 37m SMEs in Nigeria, contributing 48% to GDP & 84% of employment, according to PwC. But SMEs are often unable to scale due to several challenges, top of which is FUNDING. I’ll share a new, cheap funding source with SMEs at 8am if I get up to 100RTs. #GrowYourBusiness
Wawu! 100RTs in less than 15mins and now heading to 300 before 8am. Apparently, the data on funding as a major challenge to MSMEs is very right from these responses I've gotten. So let's go. Pls feel free to make comments or ask your questions using the hashtag #GrowYourBusiness
For most Nigerian microBusinesses & SMEs(i.e. your farmer, artist, developer, make-up artist, baker, etc.), 3major challenges that impede growth and ability to multiply wealth on a sustainable basis are access to finance, access to markets and skill acquisition. #GrowYourBusiness
Access to finance is the topmost on that list as it may impact on MSMEs' ability to access the other two. These limitations to MSMEs remain a major challenge to national economic advancement, given their impact on the economy & employment as earlier mentioned #GrowYourBusiness
There are two types of funding: debt & equity. Equity investments in MSMEs are considered high risk & require patient capital to enable them properly grow & break even, but most equity investors are often unable to take that risk or wait that long. So MSMEs suffer lack of equity.
For debt, most commercial banks offer ~20%-30% interest rates, which is extremely high for MSMEs, given their size & margins, while foreign debt is out of reach for them. So when I saw an offer of up to N10m loans at 5%interest per annum to MSMEs, I had to share #GrowYourBusiness
The Bankers Committee approved AgriBusiness/Small & Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme(AGSMEIS) to support govt efforts at promoting MSMEs as vehicle for sustainable economic development. They therefore collaborated with NIPOST &NIRSAL to execute this via NMFB #GrowYourBusiness
The National Microfinance Bank @NirsalMFB will be set up in all 774 LGAs to bridge financial inclusion& funding gaps to SMEs, offering up to N10m at 5% interest with NO COLLATERAL. Those eligible include manufacturing, creative/art, ICT, & Hospitality industries #GrowYourBusiness
This initiative is a sweet #IndependenceDay gift that will not only provide you with cheap funds, but also other support such as training, etc. Attached to this tweet are simple steps to enable you apply using this link bit.ly/NMFBLoans. All the best & see you as you grow! 
