for diversification. This fabric of our history is a woven tapestry which threads are held together by the old and new businesses that have shaped the times.
While I acknowledge that there is great room for improvement, especially infrastructure development and enforcement of these reforms by the public sector, it would be untoward not to recognise the many wins that have been made so far in the quest for a more business-enabled Nigeria. Access to finance doesn’t invoke such nightmarish visions for start-ups today, as it would have a few years ago. Thanks to the establishment of a National Collateral Registry, borrowers can now leverage movable assets such as vehicles, equipment, jewelry, etc., as collateral for loans. With this comprehensive database, lenders have saved 35% on the cost of verifying borrowers, while reducing the incidence of loan defaults.