Lagos MSMEs lost N2.7bn during lockdown —LCCI

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry says losses of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lagos is approximately N2.7 billion, due to the unprecedented Coronavirus lockdown.

LCCI’s Director-General, Dr. Muda Yusuf, made this known on Sunday through the LCCI’s Economic and Business Review for 2020 and Outlook for 2021.

Eko Hot Blog gathered that he cited the development of two important disruptions of COVID-19 and the EndSARS protests, experienced by businesses operating within the Lagos metropolis.

He amplified that the sharp Naira exchange rate depreciation coupled with sustained acceleration in domestic prices escalated both costs of production and operation for investors in the economy.

“The business community witnessed two major disruptions in the year 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic and EndSARS protest nationwide.

“Our findings showed that MSMEs with an active presence in Lagos lost at least N2.7 billion in revenue to the lockdown.

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“The fiscal and monetary authorities as well as the coalition of private sector players provided several relief measures to cushion the impacts of the pandemic on the business community.

“Business activities rebounded modestly in Q3-2020 following the relaxation of various lockdown measures.

“However, the major challenges faced by the business community in the outgoing year include – liquidity crisis in the foreign exchange market, sharp exchange rate depreciation, high energy, and production cost.

“Others are ports congestion, cumbersome and burdensome customs processes, insecurity, inconsistent policies, regulatory uncertainties, land border closure, and Apapa traffic gridlock,” he said.

The LCCI’s DG asserted that the outlook for the business environment particularly for MSMEs in 2021 was not very bright.