Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, says the federal government in partnership with the private sector, would continue to support innovation and interventions to boost the growth of small businesses across the country.
Professor Osinbajo who stated this on Monday at the first meeting of MSMEs stakeholders for the year 2021 said the partnership will help improve the economy and create more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
The Vice President urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors at the virtual meeting to be innovative in the interventions planned for small businesses across the country, so as to consolidate on the gains recorded in the MSMEs space in the past few years
On the implementation of the MSMEs Survival Fund and the impact on the economy, the Vice President said, “the implementation of the Survival Fund by the Federal Government has sent the right signals that MSMEs are an important component of the economy.”
While Commending stakeholders for their cooperation and commitment in the implementation of schemes and initiatives in the MSMEs sector, the Vice President said together more can be achieved.
, “working together, we can achieve more in the MSMEs space. I am glad to hear that there is more collaboration among partners and among Ministries, Departments and Agencies.”Osinbanjo said
In her remarks, the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum said the implementation of the Survival Fund across different areas has lessened the burden of the pandemic on businesses.
She said the federal government has filled the gap created by the pandemic through the survival fund Having impacted over 300,000 beneficiaries under the Payroll Support scheme, with N30,000 and N50,000 as at December 2020; and successfully completing the enumeration and disbursement to 166,000 Artisans as at December 2020.
Mariam Katagum noted that the support provided through the Survival Fund will go a long way in cushioning the impact of the pandemic as observed in comments captured in the testimonies of beneficiaries of the various tracks under the scheme.
On his part, the Special Adviser on Economic Matters to the President, Ambassador Adeyemi Dipeolu, emphasized the need for stakeholders to seriously consider the possibility of expanding the scope of the MSMEs Clinics to cover more beneficiaries and consolidate past efforts.
He noted that having been limited to Nasarawa and Ebonyi States alone in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the secretariat, in line with the directive of the Vice President, intends to take the Clinics to the remaining States of Benue, Imo, Lagos, Gombe, Adamawa and Jigawa, in order to ensure total coverage of the country and prepare the ground for a possible nationwide second round of the Clinics.
Ambassador Dipeolu said that other initiatives that require improvement in collaboration and scope of implementation include the Shared Facility Scheme which was launched in Benue and Lagos states respectively in 2020, with Anambra and Kaduna waiting in line to be inaugurated.
He noted that the scheme has proven to be one of the key products of the MSMEs Clinics that needs to be sustained and expanded.
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The Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Kayode Pitan, said partnership with stakeholders grew even stronger in 2020 despite the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the Bank, working with other stakeholders, will adopt strategies that will grow the MSMEs space in 2021 and beyond through the provision of facilities and other guarantees.
The Managing Director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, who represented the private sector at the meeting, reiterated the commitment of the sector in supporting the Buhari administration’s vision for MSMEs through the various initiatives implemented in the Clinics and Shared Facility Scheme.
The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control,NAFDAC, Professor Moji Adeyeye, said though the COVID-19 pandemic limited the operations of the agency in 2020, some innovations introduced in the wake of the pandemic went a long way in improving its operations and the overall certification of products.
Other stakeholders, including heads of government agencies, expressed their commitment to work together to impact more businesses in the MSMEs space in 2021.
Other participants at the meeting included the Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Abbas Bello; Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency,NITDA, Inuwa Abdullahi; the Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency SMEDAN, Dikko Radda; a representative from the Federal Inland Revenue Service,FIRS, Kudu Adamu; Director General of the Industrial Training Fund,ITF, Joseph Ari; and Director General of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria SON, Farouk Salim, among others.
(Editor:Abaje Usekwe)
