The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation, IFC will in June 2015 establish a national collateral Registry, NCR to stabilize Micro Small and Medium Enterprise, MSME financing in Nigeria.
The establishment of NCR is to boost the confidence of Nigerian banks in playing active role in financing the MSME sector in Nigeria.
Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan represented by the Assistant Director, MSME Development Fund, Mr. Tobin Jonathan, disclosed this at a 3 day workshop on the N220B MSME Development Fund organized by the Bankers’ Committee’s sub-committee on Economic Development, Sustainability & Gender in collaboration with the CBN in line with the vision of the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefiele to promote financing to the MSME sector.
In his own presentation titled “Collateral Registry and MSME Financing”, Olaitan said the Project Manager of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Ubong Awah said, IFC is collaborating with CBN to establish a National Collateral Registry to stabilize MSME financing and also boost the confidence of Nigerian banks in playing active roles in financing the sector in Nigeria.
According to him, the MSME sector is an important catalyst for economic growth and financing the sector needs serious attention. “As an organization, IFC is bringing the experience we have garnered over the years across geographies to bridge the knowledge gaps and to lay emphasis on the fact that globally, collateral for MSME is moving away from fixed assets to movable assets, hence the need to establish a collateral registry for the financial industry.
We are excited to partner with Central Bank on this initiative”, Awah said. According to the apex bank, MSMEs are the engine room for economic growth, vehicle for job creation, tools for poverty alleviation and wealth creation for any country’s economy.
In his welcome presentation the Director, Development Finance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan represented by the Assistant Director, MSME Development Fund, Mr. Tobin Jonathan, said the workshop was organized to cross-fertilize ideas and bridge the knowledge about the MSME sector by the lending institution and to also correct the wrong perception of the risky nature of the sector.
