The Director General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, says the agency has launched an iSME Digital Academy to train and empower Nigerian MSMEs on fresh courses on business enterprise development and expose them to available opportunities to access funding for upgrade of their businesses.
Odii disclosed this at the just concluded MSME National Conference organised by SMEDAN in Abuja.
He said the phenomenon course for MSMEs, apart from empowering MSMEs with new business skills and opening them to financial inflow, would also teach them how to kick-start businesses with zero capital and how to reach their target market at a click of a button.
Beyond skill empowerment, he further disclosed that; SMEDAN has started disbursement of the N200 billion Presidential intervention fund for Nigeria enterprise eco-system, with the Nano businesses getting N50 billion grant from it and another N50 billion for the MSMEs, while N100 billion will also be disbursed as soft loan at zero interest rate.
‘‘We have launched SME digital academy where SMEs take fresh course on how to transform their businesses and take advantage of these phenomenon courses to market their products to the global market. It also exposes them to start businesses with zero capital, how to raise funding for their businesses, how to identify and write a business plan, how to reach target market, recruit right hand in their jobs.
‘‘And we believe that when small businesses take these courses, their capacities will be equipped. We also believe that with the Presidents intervention with N200 billion to enterprise eco-system in Nigeria, the Nano businesses are getting N50 billion at zero per cent rate. Financing and capacity development in Nigeria is low, if pulled through can unlock a lot of access in Nigeria.
On achieving the purpose of the conference, he said, they would gather next year to appraise the impact of this years’ to appraise the conference.
In terms of his future projections, Odii said, SMEDAN plans to train about 10,000 women and out to 1 million small businesses across the country with capacity to unlock finances for their small businesses.
The SMEDAN boss also said the agency plans to build infrastructure for small businesses and remove all encumbrances inhibiting MSME growth in Nigeria.
He advised MSMEs in Nigeria to join cooperatives, and clusters so as to be able to access all available funding opportunities.
For the winners, he urged them to utilise the fund judiciously for the purpose they were meant for and go on to empower more people.
In his remarks, the Mandate Secretary to the FCT Area Councils, Secretariat, Bitrus Lawrence Garki said the conference was necessary as it afforded them opportunity to come and hear about the challenges being faced by MSMEs in the GCT so that they can go back to dissect them and come up with solutions to them.
‘‘This is a good and thoughtful event. It is important that we recognise that we need to get together and dialogue, especially, where states can come together to share experiences and challenges. It is also opportunity for MSMEs to learn how to access funds, listen and take challenges home.
‘‘We will call our council chairmen together and see how we can figure out solution to complaints and challenges, because our job is to create enabling environment. I support Town Hall Meeting for smes in all Area Councils, policy, capacity building and funding should be enhanced.’’
In his own remarks, the Chairman of Obalende LGA, Lagos represented by Olajimeji Abiodun said the gathering of small businesses will help them to share experience and how to excel. Now a lot of Nigerians are shouting hunger, small businesses are the way out of it, they need to thrive so that Nigeria can thrive.
The representative of Anambra State Governor, and state commissioner for industry, ,Mr. Udechukwu Christian, on what the state is doing to help MSMEs in the state, said that the state government , provided skill acquisition centre, provide soft loans and access to credit for MSMES. He also said that has invested in free primary and secondary education as well as health sectors .
‘‘On the regular basis we interact with MSMES in the state. WE have empowered many youth and applications are still coming in. Anybody can come in apply, no political party, gender. Any one can apply so long as he is doing business in Anambra. We belief that a wealthy state is a healthy state, hence our investment in health sector.”
