No raw materials for production due to forex micro entrepreneur

A micro entrepreneur under the aegis of Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN) has called for help and government intervention as a result of scarcity of raw materials for production occasioned by scarcity in forex.

President, AMEN, Prince Saviour Ichie, cried out weekend, at a press briefing in Lagos, revealing that materials, especially chemicals for the production of cosmetics are unavailable, saying, "most of the people that bring in these chemicals for production are Indians and they are using forex crisis to enslave us because nobody is monitoring them."

For instance, he said that chemicals that sold for N125,000 and N15,500 in August 2015, are now sold for N250,000 and N48,000 respectively.

To this end, he lamented Nigeria's inability to refine its crude oil described as source of almost all the chemicals for production, just as he pleaded with the government to allow free duty on the importation of these chemicals.

According to Iche, "local manufacturers are facing high cost of raw material and unfriendly environment in terms of power supply and poor access to fund. Government should allow free duty so that importers can have access to forex and bring in raw materials, we are not talking of finished product but raw material.

"The only way out of Nigeria's economic problem is for the government to look inward and nurture our small businesses to go into real production and that entails knowing the real entrepreneurs and giving them what they really want.

"As individuals and as an association, none of us have accessed the N220 billion approved by CBN for micro and small business line. We are micro, but they give us the same condition they give to bigger enterprises, meaning that the fund is not for people like us, it is only for multi nationals.

"In this industry we have ghost entrepreneurs who access money meant for real entrepreneurs. We are not asking much, all we are saying is make fund available when we need it, make raw material available.

"When I needed N100, 000 loan in 2005, a bank gave me condition worth N2 million, but today, the money that goes in and out of my account with that bank is worth N180 million," he said.