##ed know your customer ( kyc ) requirements. the cbn is also leading the efforts of the bankers ’ committee to set up an industry - wide biometric database for all bank customers to address issues of kyc, anti money laundering ( aml ), and access to credit. this will help fast track use of channels such as biometric atms and pos terminals, etc. 7. at this point i would like to dwell more on the competency framework. in order to ensure that the banking industry has professionals with the requisite skills to maintain the stability of the financial system, an industry competency framework was developed and exposed in june 2012 by the cbn. the objective is to guide banking operations and address issues relating to the quality of human capital in leadership positions. the framework identifies 35 key control functions, in which significant influence is exerted on the conduct of a financial institution, to define and standardize the necessary skills and competencies required for both operators and regulators in the industry. a gap analysis on industry competency using the framework, was recently conducted which revealed results competencies ranging from 3 % to 85 %. the results have been exposed to the banks and remedial actions are currently being proposed to focus those with low competency ratios to get them to an acceptable level. the cbn also recently released the national financial literacy framework ( nfis ). the financial literacy steering committee has been set up under my leadership in line with the nfis. one of the most interesting elements of this project is a requirement for the governor and deputy governors of the cbn and all bank ceos to take time and teach financial inclusion to youths in secondary schools. i have already had my own baptism of fire from very intelligent students of regent school, abuja, nigeria. in september 2013, i will also teach a class made up of up to 100 students drawn from 3 ( three ) public schools in abuja. this will continue on designated financial literacy days. the classes and the questions and answers session will be broadcasted on national television and radios nationwide. banks are also required to increase communication in indigenous languages to enhance financial literacy. 8. in 2010 cautionary lending was the order of the day as a result of the global financial crises. with the quantitative easing measures of the cbn and the intervention of amcon, financial institutions began to recover from the effects of the crises. specifically in agriculture, the cbn worked with the federal government to set up the commercial agriculture credit scheme ( cacs )

sanusi lamido sanusi : financing small and medium enterprises – strategies and challenges keynote address by mr sanusi lamido sanusi, governor of the central bank of nigeria, at the annual micro, small and medium enterprises ( msmes ) finance conference & d - 8 workshop on microfinance for small and medium enterprises ( smes ), lagos, 15 august 2013. * * * protocol 1. i welcome you all to this auspicious occasion of the annual micro, small and medium enterprises ( msmes ) finance conference and entrepreneurship awards holding concurrently with the developing - 8 ( d - 8 ) organization for economic cooperation ’ s workshop on “ microfinance for small and medium enterprises ( smes ) ”. the similarity between the theme of the conference, which is “ strategies for sustainable msme financing ”, and the focus of the d - 8 workshop, engenders the need for the search for a common solution to the challenges of access to finance for micro, small & medium entrepreneurs ( msmes ) – a critical sector usually excluded by the financial markets. 2. the d - 8 organization for economic cooperation is an alliance made up of bangladesh, egypt, indonesia, iran, malaysia, nigeria, pakistan and turkey as members, which aims at improving the position of member states in the global economy, through diversification and creating new opportunities in trade relations, enhancing participation in decision - making at international level for economic development. the platform thus provides an avenue for members to benchmark each other, share development experiences, closely under - study best practice models, and apply peer pressure in the implementation of agreed milestones. the five priority areas of long - term cooperation among the members include trade, agriculture and food, industry, transportation, energy and minerals. 3. a cardinal aspect of d - 8 industrial cooperation is the promotion of smes. the emphasis in this regard had been on the need to deepen collaboration through technology transfer and cluster development. this workshop on microfinance for smes can, therefore, be viewed as a strategic approach by the d - 8 to address the financing of sme in member countries. the conference is also focused on financing of msmes because they are generally acknowledged to contribute meaningfully to economic development through output growth, income and employment generation, and innovation. 4. your excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in 2012, nigeria had about 17. 6 million msmes employing about 32. 4 million people, and contributing about 46