By As part of efforts to enhance the capacity of small and medium scale businesses, the lawmaker representing Lagos East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, on Monday, organised a one-day clinic for 1000 Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) in the district.
The workshop was held in partnership with FATE Foundation, a 21-year-old non profit organisation focused on building sustainable businesses.
Speaking at the event, Senator Abiru who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Industries, explained that the failure of most MSMEs in Nigeria is due to lack of capacity, while highlighting the important contributions of small and medium scale businesses to the country’s economy.
“MSMEs account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development. They represent about 90% of businesses and more than 70% of employment worldwide.
“Formal SMEs contribute up to 40% of national income (GDP) in emerging economies. These numbers are significantly higher when informal SMEs are included. The latest SMEDAN/NBS MSME Survey indicates Nigeria’s SMEs contribute nearly 50% of the country’s GDP and account for over 80% of employment in the country,” he said.
While stressing the need to support struggling businesses who were mostly impacted by the devastating COVID-19, Abiru announced the launching of N100,000,000 (One hundred million Naira) soft business loan support trained MSMEs with working capital, as well as asset finance for equipment acquisition at a highly subsidized interest rate.
The N100million constituency Intervention revolving facility will be executed in partnership with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, SMEDAN with minimum limit of N100,000 (One hundred Thousand Naira) and maximum of N1,000,000 (One million naira) with as low as 6% interest rate with flexible repayment plan from 1 to 12 months starting end of first quarter (Q1), 2022.
Participants were presented with the knowledge pack, a combination of seven books written by foremost experts covering subjects of tax management, human capital, financial management, marketing and communications, strategy, legal and digital technology.
Key figures in the MSMEs ecosystem were in attendance at the event. They include the Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Mr Olukayode Pitan; the Executive Chairman, Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Ayodele Subair; Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Mrs Tejumola Abisoye; officials from Small and Medium Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN) led by the agency’s Director of Planning Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr Wale Fasanya; and Standard Organization of Nigeria(SON) team led by the Head of SME desk, Mrs Phebean Arumemi and renowned business consultants.
Also present were leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, local government chairmen, among others.
