Minister of Commerce and Industry, Engineer Charles Ugwu, has frown at the poor access to credit by most entrepreneurs in the country.

Ugwu, who expressed displeasure at the situation despite the transformation of the banking sector through the 2005 recapitalization exercise, stated that the trend needed to be improved urgently, if Nigeria must join other leading economies in the world.

The minister who delivered a speech at the opening of the Corporate Nigeria stakeholders’ forum held in Lagos, stated that the transformation experience that accompanied that process has indeed placed the nation’s financial industry in a more vantage position to operate in consonance with the global dictates of the international financial sector.

Represented at the occasion by Mr Odii Christopher Akpa, an assistant director in the ministry, he expressed concern that private sector has no easy access to funds in the Nigerian economy despite the bank’s rising profile. According to him, the recapitalization of the insurance sub-sector had indeed given the private sector more confidence to meet the challenges arising from running business in the country, stressing that businesses are now assured of adequate compensation for any genuine losses incurred in the course of any business.

But the minister noted that if the Federal Government’s dream of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020, must be achieved, then, the banking sector must be ready to support entrepreneurs with low interest credit, stressing, however, that the government was already discussing with the banks on how to arrive at low interest regime for the private sector.
He pointed out that the last consolidation policy has made Nigerian banks more reliable in both the domestic and international front, a rating that could empower them to take more risk in financing the real sector.

According to him, the policy has made Nigerian banks to be highly recognized and ranked in the international market.
He, however, expressed optimism that with government’s desire to improve the infrastructure in the economy, the situation is bound to improve. He said that the government was tenaciously working to give more to energy and other vital sectors of the economy so as to enhance the growth in the business sector.

The nation’s manufacturing sector has continued to complain over the inability of banks to actively support the process of financing them to further galvanize the country’s productive base, even when there are strong indications to prove they have the resources to do so.
For instance, besides the prevalence of high interest rate demanded by the banks even when loans are made available, the organise private sector is still worried that the harsh conditionality attached to loan disbursement are still operational.