Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ogun State, Dr. Dolapo B. A. Ogutuga (MON), has said that a major challenge facing manufacturers in 2013, especially small and medium scale industries is the difficulty in accessing long term loans at reasonably low interest rates.

Addressing the 28th annual general meeting of the state branch in Ota, Ogutuga said this challenge informed the theme ‘Single Digit Lending: Pathway to Nigeria’s Industrial Competitiveness.’

“We strategically crafted this theme to draw government’s attention to the need to create funding windows to access long term loans at single digit interest rates,” he said, adding that manufacturers’ operating environment had been beset with challenges in the areas of electricity supply, flooding in some parts of the country, which disrupted the flow of businesses, and decay in infrastructure like road maintenance.

Power supply which tended to improve early last year, dropped drastically towards the end of the year he lamented, adding that statistics available to MAN indicated that power supply to industries hovered around 30 per cent.

MAN President, Chief Kola Jamodu (OFR) at the event, described single digit lending rate as capable of increasing industrial output, capacity utilisation, advance competitiveness and increased export of manufactured products.