Investment firm to restructure SMES for funding opportunities

FINANCIAL and investment firm, Cedrus Group Africa, has stressed its resolve to leverage technology and roll out innovative products that would help aggregate Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMES) across Africa and structure them for easy accessibility of funds.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Olubusayo Adeniyi, while speaking at a press conference to mark its first anniversary as a business and the launch of its Cedrus 5000 Africa SMES' said such unbundling would help overcome access barriers to production resources and ultimately create a robust platform for them to explore various funding opportunities and expand their operations.

He bemoaned the challenges confronting the SMES sector in Nigeria, despite that it potentially constitutes the most dynamic firms in emerging economies, limiting their expansion capacity and impeding development. According to him, funding should not be a barrier to SMES growth if well- structured considering the attractiveness of SMES, especially those in the technolog y sector, manufacturing, agricul - ture and renewable energy. He noted that inappropri - ate structuring impedes and restricts their economic prosperity and growth potential in Nigeria, adding that appropriate structuring would grant them access to various Generator set funding opportunities from institutions such as the NSE to enhance business growth.

Adeniyi argued that there are structured and well- outlined business strategies that are missing when SMES do not obtain the requisite professional knowledge which discourages investors from investing in the business.

He said most SMES do not have clarity and what they want to do, noting that investors cannot stake their funds in businesses that do not have the right kind of structures.

Aside from the provision of investment solutions, he said the firm also provides infrastructure financing needs of the country.

He noted that infrastructure development is crucial for Nigeria’s economic growth, adding that the lack of adequate fiscal revenue to finance infrastructural development has left the economy grossly in deficit in this area.

Therefore, he stressed the need to get private capital functioning along with government resources, to close the nation's huge infrastructure gap.