Ifie Sekibo: MSMEs capable of driving inclusive economic growth in Niger Delta

Ifie Sekibo, managing director and CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, says he is committed to supporting the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Niger Delta.

Speaking in Port Harcourt during the maiden edition of the Niger Delta MSMEs summit, he said there is the need to improve youth participation in wealth creation.

While decrying Nigeria’s over-dependence on crude oil as a major setback to inclusive growth, Sekibo called for urgent economic diversification saying: “whether it’s oil in Nigeria and Angola, coffee in Uganda or copper in Zambia, single-commodity domination of an economy can end up shackling growth.”

“Recent studies have shown how susceptible African countries are to economic shocks and fluctuations in currencies and commodity prices,” he said.

” Some are more vulnerable than others because their economies are dependent on the export of one or just a few commodities or primary products. When there is a downturn in commodity prices, mono-product economies such as Nigeria, Angola, and Zambia accordingly suffer economic stagnation.”

Sekibo said there are reasons why Nigeria needs to urgently pursue diversification, adding that it is important to insulate the economy from the dangers of a mono-economy.

He explained that the challenges of over-dependence on oil will expose Nigeria to constant price fluctuations, emphasizing the need to create more jobs since the oil and gas jobs are only about one percent of the total job available in the county.

He called for increased youth participation in MSME sectors that are non-oil sectors but that will be major growth drivers such as healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, and supply chain, agriculture, and alternative or renewable energy, sectors which, he said, are the future of global economic growth.

Sekibo asked MSMEs in the Niger Delta not to feel any sense of despair as the big entrepreneurs such as Jack Ma of Alibaba, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, and Dangote of DANGOTE Group all started small and from very poor or disadvantaged backgrounds.

On his part, Moses Siasia, convener of the summit and chairman of Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) as well as the Niger Delta Young Professionals, expressed the determination to provide the enabling framework, by way of an entrepreneurship Hub and funding drive, to help MSMEs in the Niger Delta region thrive and ensure that youths in the region are involved in productive and creative ventures instead of waiting for stipends from governments or depending on oil revenues.