1.3 million MSMEs in 17 States, FCT to Receive Special Interventions

By Adedapo Adesanya

A group of partners in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) space is set to execute various MSME-focused interventions, targeting 1.3 million beneficiaries across 17 States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This effort is part of a bid to complement the federal government’s efforts to improve the economy and create more jobs.

The MSME and Job Creation Unit of the Vice President’s Office, which is coordinating the interventions, disclosed that the interventions are geared towards ensuring the realisation of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s commitment to job creation and economic diversification with the MSMEs playing critical roles.

The interventions will include shared centres for MSMEs providing four markets with 300KVA solar panels and mini-grids to provide eight hours of electricity a day to six fashion hubs and two furniture clusters.

Other interventions are for car painting/drying hubs and cold rooms for seafood storage, among others.

Following Vice President Kashim Shettima’s directives on the speedy execution of the projects, five of the interventions will be completed and delivered by December 2023.

In addition, there will be 12 other interventions that have been scheduled for completion before December 2024.

The states to benefit from the interventions include Abia, Rivers, Jigawa, Benue, Borno, Lagos, Ekiti, Niger, Sokoto, Enugu, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Yobe, Ondo, Osun, Bayelsa, and Imo as well as the FCT.

The MSME partners collaborating with the Office of the Vice President to execute these interventions include the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC).

Others are the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), among others.

This development is coming after VP Shettima noted on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month that the new administration is very passionate about empowering MSMEs for the development of the nation’s economy.

“It is a known fact that the empowerment of the MSMEs is key to empowering our youth and women towards contributing to the nation’s economic development,” he said, adding that “the President is a very compassionate leader, and in the coming months, there will be changes in the fortunes of Nigeria.”

Explaining the economic impact of the growth of MSMEs on the economy, Mr Shettima said: “This will have positive impacts which will enable them to support their families and add value to the nation.”