Lambert Adinoyi, Abuja
The CEO of RineAsher Nigeria Limited, a startup cottage industry that manufactures a range of household products, Mrs Ellarine Ere Emenike has called for greater synergy between the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC and other regulatory and enabling agencies like the Standards Organization of Nigeria, SON the Small and Medium scale Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN.
She also called on NAFDAC to consider collaborating with Development Finance Institutions in order to ease the challenges of commencement of new small scale businesses.
Emenike who was the Rivers East Senatorial District Candidate of the Independent Democrats (ID) for the 2015 Senatorial elections commended the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC) on the slashing by 50%, the registration fee for local manufacturers.
She further advised government to explore more avenues of easing the entry requirements for startup businesses and commended President Muhammadu Buhari whose government is now been seen to be working in the interest of small businesses as announced by the Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo with respect to boosting opportunities for MSMEs.
While commending the inclusion of movable assets as identifiable collateral as a precondition for accessing funds, she expressed concern over how many startups could actually provide expensive vehicles as collateral. She then urged government to seek more ingenious methods of assisting female entrepreneurs access funds without impediments, given they have a higher rate of success on loan repayments globally.
