 Welcome back from that report. In Nigeria, prices for goods and services are going up, which can put a squeeze on businesses' profits. Now, with a little inflation is considered, or while a little inflation is considered normal and even healthy for an economy, rapid or very high inflation, as we have experienced, can cause problems. It might lead to uncertainty in the economy, affect people's purchasing power and make long-term planning more difficult. Now, Prince-Savior Iche is the president of the Association of Micro-Entrepreneurs of Nigeria, Amen, and he joins me now to discuss further on how inflation is impacting on small businesses in Nigeria. Many thanks for joining me on the show, Prince Iche. Thank you for having me. It is indeed a pleasure. Right now inflation has actually hit a high of about over 25 percent. Specifically, in clear terms, let's get to find out how small businesses, those under Amen, that is, have been wriggling out of this whole challenge over the past few months. Thank you. On daily basis, we assume that this will be getting better, but rather it is getting worse on daily basis. As we speak today, the price of occasional gas is one-thousand lira. I bought gas this morning, and you're also aware that a liter of diesel is one-thousand something. So you can see that the industry is dying gradually, and the government doesn't see anything about it. There are no governments, no serious government can joke with this industry, because we are the highest level of labor. So the industry is dying. In fact, so many micro-interpreters are thrown in the tower. As a businessman, also as a president of an association, I get reported videos. I go to the same market with my members. And also, the high cost of a rate of a dollar is, in fact, have also, you know, bring a lot of issues, because the chemicals we are buying, 82% of the chemicals we use in Nigeria is being imported into the country. So you can see that the facts were helpless. You can see that our governments are going to foreign countries to go and bring foreign investors. Who are these foreign investors? These foreign investors are small business in their own country that their government empowered. I want to go and bring them. Why can't you encourage your own local manufacturers? We have the technical know-how. So even the Western world, if we are given an enabled environment to thrive, what is so fortunate? We found ourselves in this type of condition that government doesn't sell it in. So that is the issue. The micro-interpreter is dying. And that is why you see it as numerous unemployment in the country, because the two that employ these numerals are unemployed. We are falling off. And as the business is falling off, we are falling off and laying off our existing work into the existing level market. So it's cost of an urgent attention. All right, Prince H.A., let me just peek up from what you said in passing when you talked about the federal government trying to get foreign investors into the country, opposed to the fact that these investors, per se, have been given encouragement and empowerment by their own countries, and they are small enterprises as it were. So specifically in real terms now, when you talk about empowerment of small businesses, just how can the government comment? Is it in terms of tax holiday or a bit of subsidy for small businesses, or just how can they do that? Well, where is the topic for a longer time? It's just a simple arithmetic. Let's the government, as you said, start with that number. Let the Nigerian government, let them borrow the ideas of how things work in other countries. All right, the micro-interpreters, we have said that let there be what they call micro-business bank, and let it be established in all commercial banks. Let there be an entrepreneurial dex where a small business owner can go to his commercial bank and they can be able to assess grants. And also, let there be the importance of raw materials and machineries. Let there be a reduction of, let it give them foreign exchange, foreign exchange so that they can be able to bring these chemicals at a reduced rate, so that we can be able to buy raw materials in a reduced rate. We're not asking too much. And also, the issue of power, you can see that in most areas, especially where I stay, I consume these two on daily basis. Now, on daily basis, these two, we also use gas. So this is what the governments call the stakeholders. The problem in Nigeria is they're employing, they're bringing ministers. Who doesn't know anything about business? And in the policy making, let the government bring the stakeholders, people like us that are into business. I'm still talking about policies that the president or the federal government should bring. Sometime in July, that's about two months ago, the president made a nationwide broadcast and he announced them about a 125-billionaire plan for MSMEs to ease the economic pain. So far, how would you say that has actually impacted on them? How has a small business been able to actually work with the government to achieve that? Well, let me just say this. All this money, all these billions of dollars, we are hearing that the federal government is giving to small business owners. I want to tell you, it only ends on the page of NUSUPA and on television. I'm talking as a leader and also as an entrepreneur. This money, find your way in our rich men's posts. As I said, as we have those workers, likewise we have those entrepreneurs. If this money is going for people like us, I want to tell you, we will not be crying every day. So we will not receive a dime. That is why I said the government should establish micro-interpreneurial decks in each commercial bank where we can go and interact with them one-on-one so they can be able to value us. So all this money ends on the page of NUSUPA and television. Okay, but what we would actually have thought that you're talking about micro-credit for MSMEs and micro-entrepreneurs. Over time, we've had intervention programs by the central bank of Nigeria. I did not really get into those that really need these interventions and specifically we have the bank of industry. So far, are they just scratching the surface or what exactly is going on? You just mentioned bank of industry. As I said, I've said to stand with that number. Let's bank of industry, let them come and challenge me. Bank of industry are not for people like us. I went to bank of industry not more than three times and they not give me a dime. If at my portfolio, as the president of an association cannot be able to get a dime from bank of industry. Who will get that money? I stand to be corrected. Bank of industry should be probed. Let the government probe back of industry. Let them come out and tell us all the bill that they claim to give to micro-entrepreneurs. Who are collecting this money? I'm ready to put a challenge with them. Let them show us the addresses and the names or the millions of people they claim they are giving this money. And I will put them around. I applied to bank of industry up to three times like us, my members and other entrepreneurs in Nigeria. What bank of industry is doing? They will discourage you and they keep their money to themselves. It's an allegation that I can be able to defend. We're still talking about financing right now. I want to understand the place of... We've talked about bank of industry and you've talked about their limitation and what they are not doing. Then what about the place of micro-finance banker? Is it that they are not giving the needed funds because they actually established to give credits to small businesses as it is now? Are they not doing what they should be doing or is it an issue of the requirements to get in this loom or just the interest rates per se? How would you really say... What would you really say is the issue with the micro-finance? Okay, the issue now... Fine, the issue... Let me say it on bank of industry. The bank of industry have only one... They don't have classification. The condition that a multinational company is given to collect loans from bank of industry is the same condition that a small business owner is still giving. So without the what it means that no small business owner can be able to meet the condition of bank of industry is only the multinational companies that are meeting their requirements. We have told them they should classify... Let them classify... What I was asking... We've talked about the bank of industry and you've talked about how they are not doing their jobs. I'm looking at another angle right now. The micro-finance banks... How well would you say they have performed really in actually helping small businesses? Okay, the other financial institutions... What do you mean? Micro-finance banks. The MFBs. Okay, okay, okay. Micro-finance bank. Those were our killers, our killers of business. How so? Okay, let me tell you... If you go to micro-finance bank to borrow money there are some hidden things, there are some hidden conditions they will not tell you where you are going for this money. If you've got someone that needs money you'll be eager to sign form. But at the end of the day if you are going for five hundred thousand for instance in the micro-finance bank at the end of the day they will remove up to one hundred and seventy thousand naira on one from you. They call it burglary, insurance, and some other things I cannot be able to mention. Before you can get this money they will remove up to one hundred and seventy thousand naira from you. This is somebody that needed money to do business. Go and do your research when there are no small business owners that have borrowed from back of industry from micro-finance bank and pay it easily. Because they are there to deceive them. They are the enemy of small business. I've borrowed money from them. Before I can do them to pay this money I pay through my nose. Alright now, so now that we've established that the micro-finance bank are actually not doing what they should be doing in terms of providing credit to small businesses and the bank of industry and the CBN and other financial institutions who are supposed to help some business that are not doing so. What do we do going forward in as much as there are issues of inflation, the high dollar rate, but businesses just have to thrive somehow. So for those who are actually coping each of you can hear me. For those who are actually trying to cope what advice would you give small businesses that are trying to survive and they are trying not to really stay out of business? The only advice I have to them as I'm giving them advice I'm also advising myself because I'm also an entrepreneur. The only thing, the only advice I have to them is to continue not to throw in the towel. Some of them, most of us are privileged to have some customers that pay money to us before supply. We use customer money. So if they have that privilege of customer pay for their goods before supply, they should use that and they also be sincere to their customers. That's only how we are surviving now. Most of us have an existing business that is moving when most customers that trust you will give you money after producing you pay them and after producing you supply them and the net money that comes from it use it to run the business. That's the only thing I need to do. I want to advise the government at this level we are now if nothing is something should be done in a very quick sensation. If not the industry, in fact as I always said the industry is on command I know what it means. So just on a final note very quickly right now as we round off the show I want to understand the relationship between Amin and Smedan in the pursuit of getting small businesses to take its place in the economy. What's the relationship like between Amin and Smedan? The relationship between Amin and Smedan is a relationship. But the problem is Smedan is under ministry Smedan doesn't have the monopoly to take action on herself right? So before Smedan can do anything they need to get approval from ministry if they can allow Smedan to be an independent body I think it will do well for us because we have the relationship is called there but as I said there are handcuffs they can't do anything without their approval from the minister of the ministry. All right almost a very big thank you to you speaking with the president of the association of micro-entrepreneurs of Nigeria thanks for being a part of the show and we hope that the federal government is listening and they will actually leave from some of the things that you have said and just try to move the SME sector forward in Nigeria. Once again thank you for your time. Thank you for having me. All right I'm afraid that's as much as we have time for on the show for today my name is Justin Akadonye business insights returns to your screen time tomorrow bye for now