What you should know about NEDEP
What do you know about NEDEP? SMEs in Africa are unarguably, one of the most important sub-sectors of the continent’s economy. These small businesses represent nearly 90% of all commercial ventures across various African countries, employ an astonishing number of citizens each year. They also contribute to the GDP of the countries within which they operate. SMEs in Africa and beyond are widely recognized as crucial engines of economic growth and industrialization. They are major contributors to employment generation, wealth creation, poverty alleviation, and food security.
In Nigeria, the 2017 National NBS national survey put the number of MSMEs in Nigeria at 41.5million. These businesses spring up on a daily basis, sustain themselves and control every aspect of the supply chain in the country’s commercial market despite the challenges they face. Growth in the SMEs sector directly translates to the overall growth of the economy, and this fact cannot be overemphasised.
Small businesses in Nigeria grapple with various challenges to succeed in their chosen markets, and these include the issue of low access to affordable finance, poor access to business development services, inadequate infrastructure and high cost of doing business. To address such challenges, back in the year 2013 Dr Olusegun Aganga, the then Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, launched the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP).
What Is NEDEP?
NEDEP is an acronym for the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP). It was initiated specifically aimed at generating an estimated 5 million jobs by the end of 2015 by focusing on skills acquisition, entrepreneurship training/business development service (BDS) and access to finance.
The goal is to support and assist in the creation of as many enterprises in every state and local government in Nigeria while ensuring that more Nigerians are provided with employment opportunities. NEDEP is overseen by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (“SMEDAN”), guided by empirical research and draws from the experiences of similar successful enterprise development initiatives in Africa and beyond.
As much as SMEDAN is piloting the programme, the entrepreneurship training/business development service component is being implemented under the One Local Government One Product (OLOP) platform while the access to finance component is being handled by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and skills acquisition by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).
Goals/Objectives of NEDEP
Skill acquisition & training
Through the ITF, the NEDEP Scheme works to provide the necessary training and skill-set acquisition to business owners. The ITF also provides technology service to these key players to enhance their manpower capacity and overall training delivery effort.
Business development
Under this programme, SMEDAN assists businesses by providing their owners with the business planning skills training they need to enhance their productivity and have easier access to factors of production while aiding trade and other technological exposition.
Financial facilities
Through NEDEP, the Bank of Industry provides financial facilities to SMEs seeking expansion or diversification. Creditworthy promoters are permitted to prove their commitment to the project by contributing at least 25 percent of the project cost excluding land, and borrowers with demonstrable ability to meet loan repayments are rewarded with the loans.
Revitalisation Of The Economy
The NEDEP programme was initiated to revitalise the Nigerian economy, improve employment opportunities, create wealth and alleviate poverty in Nigeria. This will be done through the establishment of sustainable MSMEs in the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) based on comparative and competitive advantages.
Entrepreneurial Culture and Youth Restiveness
The scheme is also geared towards the entrenchment of entrepreneurial culture in Nigeria, the enhancement of industrial cluster development, increased MSMEs contribution to GDP, the elimination of youth restiveness and other social vices in Nigeria.
Who can apply for NEDEP loan through SMEDAN?
Every small business and entrepreneur in Nigeria can apply. All MSMEs are eligible to get a loan, via one of SMEDAN’s many initiatives. Usually, the main requirement is that you have a registered business. Nonetheless, unregistered businesses can still apply after getting registered at a later stage. You can apply as an individual or as a group.
How To Apply
SMEDAN has a Credit Information Portal that can be useful for those wanting to apply for a commercial bank loan. Essentially, this portal is a database of credit facilities that are potentially available to MSMEs in Nigeria.
SMEDAN does not provide the NEDEP loan on its own. It only acts as the middle man in these loan transactions by creating a pool of loans accessible to small businesses and entrepreneurs from different providers such as banks, Micro-finance, cooperate societies and more. In summary, it is more like matchmaking between small businesses/entrepreneurs and fund providers. The matchmaker is SMEDAN.
Through the search function on this portal, you can find basic information about lenders, how much you can borrow, loan repayment periods and interest rates. Once you’ve found what you want, you can go on to apply directly with the financial institution in question.
How to get a NEDEP loan from SMEDAN
Follow these steps to get a loan from SMEDAN in its pool:
1. Visit SMEDAN credit information portal
The first step is to visit the credit information portal. You can access the portal from your computer, tablet or phone.
2. Select the type of loan that you want
Next is to select the type of loan that you want, click on Access loans on the top menu. There are four types of loan which includes including personal loan: aimed at helping individuals achieve goals quickly; business loans: targeted to help businesses grow, mortgage loans: aimed to assist in acquiring property and usually long-term in nature.
3. Provide needed information
You will be asked to provide the necessary information, more like creating a profile. You must provide accurate information. The information required will include the purpose of the loan, your age, employment status and how much you need.
4.Get loan options
Once you have filled in the required information, you click on ‘check availability’. You should be able to see the available loan options based on the information that you provided.
5. Apply for loan
Go through the results. You will see loan requirements for each of them and the interest rates. Once you find the one that is okay by you, you apply. Simply click on “View details and apply.” Then click on “Get started.”
Ultimately, we can all agree that one of the toughest parts of being an entrepreneur is finding the next opportunity to make it big in business. As a business owner, your job is to distinguish the good opportunities from the unwise ones to make the smart decisions that will set you ahead in the long run.
