IMPLEMENTING THE NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT (NEPAD) BY PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SME SECTOR IN THE CONTEXT OF CAPITAL MARKETS IN AFRICA

by Chief Dennis O. ODIFE
(Article Reference: Document No.18, November 2002)

Conclusion
The paper introduces the NEPAD programme of the AU and argues successfully for its immediate implementation. The NEPAD itself is an ambitious programme for the rejuvenation of Africa through African ownership and leadership of the programme. A major weakness is that it adopts the position of a moral minority rather than an ideological one. Another weakness is that the Top-Down approach to its articulation rather than the Bottom-Up approach more applicable in a democracy robs it of broad-based African ownership and leadership so critical to its success. Furthermore, it predicates its success mainly on external funding to bridge the perceived development gap. In the face of NEPAD's obvious funding difficulties, the paper argues alternatively for seeking potentially more rewarding African ownership and leadership of NEPAD through the promotion of the SME sector in the context of African capital markets.

It then showcases the Nigerian Banks SME Funding Programme (SMIEIS) as being worthy of emulation notwithstanding its teething problems. Properly redesigned and implemented along the lines proposed in the paper, the Nigerian Banks SME Funding Programme or the SMIEIS presents a possible model for adoption across Africa. The SMIEIS removes finance as an impediment to the establishment and growth of SMEs in Nigeria. The residual delivery problem is to be resolved through collaborative action with the regulatory authorities and the public to embrace African capital markets appropriately redesigned for the trading of SME securities.

The paper concludes that the restructuring of African capital markets which must follow, together with the mass mobilisation, and re-education of Africans and African institutions for the process, will awaken investor interest, African and non-African alike, in investing in Africa and thus hasten growth and development as NEPAD seeks to achieve with international goodwill.

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