Five interventions that may shape MSMEs this year

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are increasingly becoming the pillar of any nation’s economy, which means that any government that pays little or no attention to the sector does so at the risk of its economy. In Nigeria, the MSMEs sector has been largely underdeveloped due to many years of neglect but recently, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, argued that most start-ups are unaware of government interventions in the sector. 

Daily Trust takes a deep look into five government interventions that may shape MSMEs this year . 20,000 start-ups to benefit from intervention programmes of the National Assembly. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has revealed that more than 20,000 small business operators and start-ups would benefit from the 2015/2016 zonal intervention programmes of the National Assembly domiciled in the agency for various senatorial districts and federal constituencies across the country. Information obtained from the agency indicated that it has started delivering the programmes, which are tailored towards  providing entrepreneurship training and vocational skills. The trainees are to benefit from empowerment materials such as tailoring machines, grinding machines, motorcycles, tricycles, hair-dressing equipment and block-moulding machines. 

At a ceremony to flag off the delivery of the materials in Abuja, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Malam Bature Umar Masari, advised the contractors to liaise with members of the National Assembly in whose constituencies the programme would be executed in order to have seamless implementation.  The Director-General stated that the agency’s management would closely monitor the implementation of the programmes in order to achieve its desired objectives, 23 MSMEs clusters underway. The SMEDAN has revealed its plan for the upgrade and conversion of its 23 Industrial Development Centres (IDCs) across the country to enterprise centres and MSMEs clusters in an effort to facilitate speedy development of MSMEs to enhance economic empowerment and employment generation.  Masari disclosed this recently in Abuja shortly after briefing the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, on the state of the IDCs. Stressing the importance of the IDCs to skills and MSMEs development, the Director-General said that the IDCs, after the upgrade through public-private partnership (PPP), would be converted into MSMEs cluster parks and enterprise zones.  The IDCs slated for conversion into MSMEs cluster parks are those in Abeokuta, Akure, Bauchi, Benin, Kano, Maiduguri, Minna, Ogoja, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Yola and Zaria.  The IDCs in Enugu, Idu, Ikorodu, Ilorin, Jos, Katsina, Owerri, Uyo and Wukari would be converted into enterprise zones because of their size to offer common facilities and workspaces to MSMEs in those states. Malam Bature revealed that towards ensuring the actualisation of the plan, SMEDAN is already into partnership with the Osun and Kano state governments for the redevelopment and upgrade of the IDCs in Oshogbo and Tiga respectively where funds are being committed by the two state governments on the upgrade and conversion of the facilities. He pointed out that while the Tiga IDC is in the process of being converted to a world- class leather cluster park, more than N200 million has so far been expended on the improvement of facilities and rehabilitation of the Oshogbo IDC by the Osun state government under a memorandum of understanding with SMEDAN. 

Cluster parks for MSMEs are a veritable vehicle for the development of small enterprises as a cluster provides common facilities for the operators who ordinarily may not be able to provide such facilities for themselves. State governments and private investors should also key into the initiative as this will not only ensure easy monitoring and support to MSMEs but will also ensure easy identification and documentation of small enterprises within their domain with the resultant economic benefits. Business clinics for MSMEs. There seems to be little or no awareness on the existence of business clinics for MSMEs across the states of the federation. MSMEs operators and start-ups can approach these clinics run by the SMEDAN to access business counselling services and enterprise-related problem diagnosis. Small business owners can also access prescription of feasible solutions, as well as legal, taxation and technical support.  The agency’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Ibrahim Mohammed, told the Daily Trust that the roles of the clinics would “go a long way in providing the necessary information that will enhance and boost MSMEs in Nigeria.” NEDEP being implemented by BOI, ITF and SMEDAN The National Enterprise Development Programme being implemented by the Bank of Industry (BOI), Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the SMEDAN aims to entrench entrepreneurial culture among young people, industrialise rural areas, enhance industrial cluster development, increase MSMEs contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and increase export potentials. Since the inception of the programme, data obtained from the SMEDAN revealed that the initiative has created 800,000 jobs, while 70,000 cooperative societies have been formed and registered across the country and are being helped to develop bankable business plans.

 

The BOI, BOA and MFBs have received 7,500 business plans from some of the cooperative societies and it is imperative for MSMEs that are unaware of the innovation to key into it by forming cooperative societies.  The NEDEP aims to create one million jobs this year alone and this may be the opportunity many Nigerians have been waiting for. OLOP provides business roadmap for MSMEs The federal government has identified, at least, one product in each of the nation’s 774 local government areas that MSMEs can leverage upon to grow wealth and create employment.  Under the One Local Government, One Product (OLOP) programme, the federal government highlights the comparative and competitive advantages of each local government in the country to give residents and investors the opportunity to alleviate poverty in rural areas.  Start-ups that are not too familiar with their business environment can approach SMEDAN for guidance based on the OLOP programme in order to compete favourably with similar businesses outside their domain.

Source- dailytrust.com.ng