New SMEDAN DG Pledges Improved Service Using Technology  

The new Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Charles Odu has said that the agency leverages technology to drive its service to small businesses. The Director General made the pledge during the handing over ceremony by the outgoing DG, Dr Olawale Fasanya Monday in Abuja.   Mr. Odu noted that while SMEDAN’s goal remains unchanged the method and approach must be improved upon stressing that the agency will work private and public institutions at all levels to eliminate barriers, whether in policy or infrastructure, that limit the growth of SMEs and threaten their survival. “We will leverage useful tools and technology to achieve our core objective, beginning with the rapid formalization of small and medium-sized businesses to improve the quality of our data and the services we provide.  “We will explore local and international funding opportunities and democratize access to capital for entrepreneurs with valuable ideas and the right motivation no matter where they live in the country. “Nigerians should be able to conceive of an idea and register a business seamlessly. They must be given a fighting chance with readily available access to funding and a business environment conducive to growth,” he said. While thanking President Bola Tinubu for the opportunity to serve, he insisted that the agency will continue to fulfill its role as the main driver of economic growth, the source of innovation and the engine of job creation. “We have the duty to ensure they receive the support and resources they need to thrive,” he added. “SMEs will receive the training and skills they need to grow sustainably, meet local demand and become global players by exporting value. We will build production hubs where businesses can gain affordable access to the facilities they need, and we will showcase their products to the nation and the rest of the world through masterful storytelling and exhibitions and fairs staged in partnership with relevant stakeholders. “We will achieve this together as a team united by a common purpose. I am eager to collaborate with all of you to make a difference. Together, we can shape a future where our small and medium enterprises are not only surviving but thriving, and in doing so, contribute significantly to the prosperity of our nation. Earlier, SMEDAN outgoing DG, Dr. Fasanya, said there was a need to support SMEs to grow as they contribute about 80 per cent to employment in Nigeria. “The population of this sector is enormous. Like the last survey, we have not less than 39.6million people and largely most of them are informal. You cannot move from one house to the other without seeing one man’s business. It is important to segregate nano from micro in giving the right attention. “We really need to support them because they are not usually affected by the economic shocks. We are on this journey together. I will keep offering my advice and I believe that very soon, people will begin to feel the sector is changing,” he said.

Development Bank builds capacity of 1,000 MSMEs

In continuation of its capacity development training programmes for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has organised a one-day training for over 1,000 small businesses across six states in the North-East and North-West. The MSMEs were spread across Gombe, Maiduguri, Adamawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi states.  The capacity training programme, which was conducted in each of the locations, had facilitators with experts in business management for small and medium-scale enterprises.  A statement from DBN stated that the training focused on optimisation and development of skills, aimed at further strengthening the capacity of the beneficiaries to scale up their businesses.  It also said the key objective of the training programme across locations, was to help the owners of the businesses develop their capacity and gain better knowledge of how they could access the DBN funding through the participating financial intermediaries (PFI). The Managing Director/CEO, Development Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, commended the facilitators for bringing their expertise and experience to bear and expressed the optimism that the training would have a lasting impact on the participants and their businesses.   He affirmed that the training was in line with the Bank’s unwavering commitment to strengthening the capacity of MSMEs in the country so that they can continue to contribute more to the economic growth and development of the country.  Okpanachi said: “The strategic role of MSMEs as enablers of socio-economic development cannot be over-emphasised. A larger percentage of businesses in Nigeria are in the informal sector dominated by MSMEs. The MSMEs sector is a significant pillar of Nigerian economic growth; they make up 97 percent of businesses, generate six million jobs and contribute 50 per cent of the national GDP. “Small businesses are value-creators and they create wealth for individuals. At DBN, we are passionately committed to seeing MSMEs increase their capacity for growth and expansion, and being more sustainable so that together, we can continue to build a stronger economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.” The Development Bank of Nigeria through its numerous capacity training platforms has enriched the knowledge and capacity of MSMEs owners in the country through regular highly-enriching training initiatives and retooling, thereby positioning them for sustainable growth and expansion.   One of the platforms is the annual DBN Entrepreneurship Training Programme (DBNETP) currently in its 5th Cycle and has benefitted over 2000 MSMEs across Nigeria who have been trained digitally and physically, leveraging partnerships and the DBN Learning Management System (LMS).