Abuja Chamber commends Jonathan on N220m SMEs fund

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Indus­try has commended President Goodluck Jonathan over the N220 million Micro Small and Medium Council Scheme launched recently, describing it as a policy in the right direction.

He, however, advised that the organised private sector should be engaged in setting eligibility criteria for assessing the loans.
Jude Igwe, Vice President, Public Relation at the cham­ber, dropped the hint yester­day during a press conference on the Inauguration Ceremo­ny of the 9th President, Exco and Council Members of the chamber and the presentation of its 2014 awards.
He also expressed concerns about the stifling negative ef­fect of multiple taxation and revenue collection on the SMEs in FCT, noting that the minister has directed that ur­gent steps be taken to check the menace.
Igwe also identified high interest rates, poor infrastruc­ture, poor funding, multiple taxation, and raw materials availability as some of the challenges faced by SMEs in FCT.
He however, recommended that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) can develop a reliable feedback mechanism with the collabo­ration of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry to facilitate constant review of the impact of policies.