42% of Nigerians lost their jobs during coronavirus lockdown —World Bank

The World Bank Thursday revealed that around 42% of the Nigeria’s workforce lost their jobs between March and June following the shutdown of the economy in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak.

Ahmed Rostom, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank, made the disclosure at the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Webinar Series’ virtual knowledge sharing series titled ‘Risk Sharing: A Key Driver for Increased Financial Access and Economic Development for MSMEs.’

He presented data from surveys executed by the World Bank between April and June 2020 on the economic growth constraints and the impact of COVID-19 in the country.

Read also: Buhari meets Lawan, Gbajabiamila on 774,000 jobs project

42 per cent of persons working before March 2020, particularly those in the hospitality and service industry, are out of job, Mr Rostom said.

Panellists also acknowledged that Credit Guarantees Schemes were notable policy documents, created to alleviate credit constraints confronting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

Ayodele Olojede, Group Head Emerging Business at Access Bank said MSMEs did not have steady and sustained access to finance, adding that “risk sharing facilities will help increase access to finance which helps MSMEs grow, increases employment and output in the economy”.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now