‘Why banks snub MSMEs on loans’

The Academic Director and Senior Fellow in Information Systems, Lagos Business School, LBS, Dr. Olayinka David-West, has said that lack of digital capacity, education and proper documentation are reasons why MSMEs in Nigeria are not considered for credit facilities by banks, stressing that the financial services anywhere in the world are highly regulated and processed driven.

David-West said this at the inaugural edition of Vanguard Economic Forum series on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lagos. She lamented that most MSMEs are not aware of the importance of financial technology companies (Fintechs) for their inventory, improving their credit profile, sourcing of funds and credit scoring, saying with the penetration of technology, MSMEs should take advantage of such to improve their businesses and remain competitive.

David-West spoke on the topic, “The Role of Fintech in Integrating and Enhancing MSMEs Access to Finance”.

She said: “When we talk about Fintech, it is really about the combination of financial services, technology and regulations. Financial services are regulated industry; you cannot wake up and set up a bank and it is the responsibility of government to make financial market safe and sound.

“Data is not only about record keeping but digitizing your business. We don’t really use any digital technology to automate our business; we still generate our receipts for instance, manually, making most business owners lose control of their businesses. Technology will always grow and bring new innovations which are being applied to businesses in different sectors. Through Fintech a lot of things are being transformed and competition is not just your neighbour, competition is everywhere because of technology and the level of awareness. Most Nigerians are now shopping globally because of the importance of digital capacity which is necessary at the global space.”

Credit: Vanguard