The Director General of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr Dikko Radda has advocated the urgent need for the review of the operations of the agency in order to reposition it for effective management of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
He stated this during a strategic management retreat of the agency in Kaduna state, North West Nigeria.
Dr Radda pointed out that Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria have not been effectively funded by government despite the sector’s contribution in the areas of job creation, poverty alleviation and revenue generation.
He told the gathering that access to affordable finance for MSMEs has remained a major challenge to the agency’s inability to nurture such enterprises.
Minister of for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar, while commending the effort of SMEDAN in trying to diversify the economy from the oil sector, tasked the agency to initiate programmes that will boost the micro finance enterprises and also to collaborate with other institutions in both public and private sector in order to create enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
On the other hand, the Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Kaduna State, Mr Shehu Balarabe, called on SMEDAN to unlock all funding opportunities available to MSMEs to enable the state benefit from such programmes.
The retreat is aimed at providing a platform for the review of the agency’s operations over the years and strategically chart the way forward.
It is also aimed at aligning with the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration programme in revamping the productive and service sectors of the Nigerian economy without oil, and creating massive job opportunities for the citizens.
