By Francis Akinnodi

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The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has canvassed for productive initiatives to save operations of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

According to the last report of the SMEDAN, National Bureau of Statistics, NBS National Survey of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Nigeria has a total number of enterprises in the sub-sector at well over 39 million providing a total of over 61 million employments and about 49 per cent of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria.

But as important as the sub-sector is to the national economy, it is still encumbered with several challenges which the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War have further worsened.

Speaking with The Hope, Ondo State Coordinator, SMEDAN, Biodun Ayedun explained that the challenges of MSMEs usually border on access to finance, market, equipment, information, technical and entrepreneurial skills and workspace.

He said these were some of the fundamental challenges that informed the establishment of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) vide the SMIDA Act in 2003.

He noted that the agency under the newly appointed Director General, Olawale Fasanya, would ccontinue to build on the foundations laid by his predecessors so as to cause a positive shift in the MSMEs development narratives in Nigeria.

He said the DG’s appointment marked the first time a staff of the agency would be at the helm of affairs to drive the sustainable and inclusive development of the sub-sector.

Meanwhile, speaking on the Developing-8 (D-8) initiative, Olawale Fasanya said the D-8 Centre for SMEs is a proposal already submitted to the D8 Secretariat which is an international organisation specifically established for the development cooperation among Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.

This, according to him, is intended to help promote, encourage, advance and support the activities of MSMEs at the national level as well as within the D-8 region to further strengthen economic, trade and commercial integration and linkages.

He explained that the establishment of the D-8 Centre for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) would unleash substantial development impacts.

“Synergies between and among the centres and relevant national agencies/authorities, D-8 Secretariat and other bodies would provide tremendous opportunities for MSMEs to connect and jointly explore opportunities on transforming scientific innovations at the national level into development solutions for the D-8 family.

“In line with the foregoing, we are currently working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nigeria Export Promotion Council and other stakeholders to host a D-8 SME forum in Nigeria towards the end of August 2022.”