Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce assures FG of continuous support for MSMEs

The Chamber reiterated its support for the subsector at an Advocacy Press Conference on Thursday in Lagos.

NBCC was established in 1977 and has remained the foremost bilateral Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria.

It has focused on fostering goodwill and increasing trade and investment opportunities between Nigeria and Britain.

The Vice-president of the Chamber and Chairman of its Trade and Investment Committee, Akin Osuntoki, said support for MSMEs was paramount for the organization.

According to him, “The press conference is a way of giving the general public a half-year briefing of the activities of the NBCC.

“The vision of the NBCC is to be the foremost channel of trade and commerce between Nigeria and Britain.

“We want to facilitate trade and investment between these two nations. Everything that we do is around that core objective. The mission is to continually encourage and promote mutually beneficial trade relations with Nigeria.

“Every serious economy rests on the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). We have realized the roles that MSMEs play in an economy that is why we focus so much on the subsector.

“Our focus on MSMEs is a continuous one we want to help Nigerian MSMEs grow into corporate and large companies.

“We proceeded to pursue opportunities to add value to members. The only way we can retain membership and grow membership is to ensure that we add value to businesses,” Osuntoki said.

On her part, Anne Rinu, Chairman, NBCC Advocacy Committee, said the advocacy bid of the chamber was aimed at protecting the business interests of members.

She added that liaising with the relevant government institutions and agencies to formulate favourable policies and ease of doing business for members was a major objective of the chamber’s advocacy efforts.

“ This advocacy is aimed at intimating stakeholders both private and public on the business challenges faced by members of the Chamber and how we intend to proffer solutions to those challenges.

“The objective of the advocacy arm of the Chamber is two-fold. It includes identifying policies that affect our members’ interests and also function as the voice of the members.

“We work to shape policy proposals in favour of general commerce and to positively influence legislation relevant to our members by hosting events with policy experts, Heads of Government Agencies, and other Stakeholders.

“We, however, call for reduction of bureaucratic bottlenecks at the export agencies, digitalization of export services, and sensitisation of the exports community on due export processes.

“Advocacy being one of the Chamber’s cardinal goals, we will continue to offer advice, inputs and partnership on strategies that can facilitate the realization of economic development and growth,” Rinu said.