The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SMEDAN

  • Tips for successful entrepreneurship, by SMEDAN, others

    ENTREPRENEURS have been advised to be determined and patient, if they want to succeed.

    An official of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Yinka Fisher gave the advice at a two-day workshop held in Kirikiri for Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Lagos Command officials by the Prison Fellowship Nigeria (PFN) in conjunction with the Covenant University (CU) and Institute of Entrepreneurs.

    Fisher, who represented the director-general, said entrepreneurs should also be time managers, risk calculators, innovative, visioners and problem-solvers, if they really wanted to be achievers.

    He advised the prison officials  that one day they would quit service either by resigning or retiring, and that it would be good for them to prepare now, instead of being taken unawares.

    He also advised the officers to use their spare time while in service to start a business and nurture it to fruition. He however added that not everyone could go into business.

    A Professor of Civil Engineering,  Covenant University (CU),Ota, Ogun State, David Olukanni advised officers to see their work as service to God and mankind.

    Olukanni, who represented the varsity’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Aderemi Aaron-Anthony Atayero, said the prisons officers should look beyond their uniform and use their talent to serve the country. He noted that everyone has a role to play in nation building. Every one, he said, a responsibility.

    A Professor of Psychology in the varsity, Olujide Adekeye, who spoke on leadership, said the subject is easy to learn but difficult to practise. ‘’No one is an expert in leadership,’’ he submitted.

    He listed seven leadership skills as communication, goal setting, motivation, team building, change leading, conflict management and coaching. He attributed causes of leadership failure to be inability to organise details, unwillingness to provide support, fear of competition from followers, lack of imagination and emphasis on authority.

    To avert leadership challenges, Adekeye said there should be clarity of purpose, team building, communication and mechanism for dealing with conflicts.

    PFN Executive Director Ben Iwuagwu said the objective of the group is to share the love of God with prison inmates. At a point, he said, the group discovered that it was not enough to preach but to also train the inmates. It was for this that the Life Recovery Pre-release Empowerment Programme (ONISEMUS Project) of the association was launched to cater to the needs of the inmates, he said.

    Iwuagwu praised CU for partnering PFN, saying that their assistance over the years was noteworthy. He urged the prison officers to use the knowledge they would gain from the training to do their work better. He also thanked SMEDAN for its help to the organisation.

  • SMEDAN empowers 160 in Anambra, Kebbi

    SMEDAN empowers 160 in Anambra, Kebbi

    The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has begun the empowerment of 160 young business owners in Anambra and Kebbi states.

    Kicking off the exercise in Awka, the Anambra State capitalko Umaru Radda, said the empowerment has two components – enterprise management training and payment for workspaces for one year.

    According to the him, the two components are part of the solutions designed by the agency to mitigate business failures recorded by young business owners.

    He noted that the training would sharpen the business management skills of the beneficiaries which would enhance their performance while the payment for workspaces would reduce their financial burden and free some funds for daily operations.

    Urging them to make the best of the window of opportunity opened by SMEDAN, Radda, who was represented by the Southeast Zonal Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Levi Anyikwa, stressed that sustenance of the Young Business Owners in Nigeria (YBON) initiative was imperative for addressing the unemployment situation in Nigeria, which has reached a crisis level.

    The target beneficiaries of the programme are youths between 20 and 45. The goal is to create new opportunities for enterprise growth for start-ups and for employment.

    Selection criteria for beneficiaries include: technical capacities of the promoters, available raw materials, markets, available skills, access to appropriate technologies, among others. Needs assessment was conducted, which formed the basis for the design of the empowerment package.

    Furthermore, the delivery of a tailored Business Development Services (BDS) package would include mentoring, linkages to markets and sources of equipment and provision of workspace.

    For sustainability of the programme, small business advisors would be assigned to each beneficiary/group to provide critical hand-holding supports to ensure the realisation of the set goals prior to the agency’s project-exit.

  • NDDC, SMEDAN sign pact on Innovation Hub

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, (SMEDAN) and a private sector organisation for the establishment of Nigeria’s first enterprise innovation and growth hub.

    The tripartite agreement was signed yesterday during a meeting at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt between the NDDC, SMEDAN and Builders Hub Impact Investment Programme, (BHIIP).

    NDDC Managing Director Nsima Ekere said the meeting was a follow up to a previous engagement with Director-General of SMEDAN, Dr Dikko Radda, in Abuja.

    Ekere said that the partnership with SMEDAN was one way of proving to Nigerians that inter-agency collaboration and synergy could work.

  • SMEDAN trains MSMEs officers

    SMEDAN trains MSMEs officers

    The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) is training its Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises  (MSME) officers for the implementation of its One Local Government One Product (OLOP) Programme.

    Declaring the event open in Kaduna, its Director-General, Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, said the agency was re-launching the OLOP programme in line with the vision of the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG).

    He said OLOP is a rural economy revitalisation plan built around the well-known drivers of its globally-renowned equivalent – One Village One Product – which originated from Japan.

    Radda told the desk officers that the One Local Government One Product, is a process  in which each local government identifies a valuable local resource in which it has competitive and comparative advantage to promote to the rest of the country through its value-addition, sales and marketing activities.

    He said the programme was focused on identifying local distinctiveness, value-addition, and branding and market access.

    He reiterated that  OLOP  would enable the agency achieve the goal of  identifying and galvanising  rural communities around their natural endowment for wealth creation.

    OLOP would also enhance technical, technological and business management skills of MSMEs (especially existing ones) as basis for expanding business opportunities of local communities and it will  facilitate emergence of value-added products, with emphasis on quality control, packaging and branding, he aded.

    Radda also pointed out that senatorial districts would be used as  the platform for the selection of the products, as the agency would be anticipating 109 products from the senatorial districts.

  • SMEDAN seeks entrepreneurial courses in schools

    SMEDAN seeks entrepreneurial courses in schools

    The Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dikko Radar has urged the Federal Government to make entrepreneurship a full course from primary to the degree levels to curb corruption in the country.

    He made this call during a visit by the Cordinator, Student for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE), Amagu Agwu,  in Abuja, expressing delight at the performance of Nigerian students during an international competition in Ukraine.

    He said: “It is compulsory today that entrepreneurship course be offered in all Nigerian universities. Currrently, University of Calabar has very good facilities in the entrepreneurship centre.

    “The truth is that you cannot combat corruption only by arresting politicians and government officials; the only way to combat corruption is to start working on the minds of the youths, shift their thoughts and mind to creativity.

    “The youths are already born into corrupt society; when their minds are permanently engaged in meaningful activities, they will no longer dwell on insignificant issues.

    “The student, through  the advancement of global entrepreneurship, SAGE, has done a good work. I will push programmes through the agency to ensure it is a success. This is the direction the country should go, if not, the country will remain in this corrupt state for eternity.”

  • SMEDAN, NDDC partner on Southsouth growth

    The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) will continue to work with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to achieve its mandate of developing Southsouth, Director-General Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, has said.

    He spoke during a meeting with the NDDC Managing Director, Mr. Nsime Nkere, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

    Radda acknowledged the importance of the agency in helping to actualise the mandate of the commission, adding that the agency was set up to facilitate the development and promotion of MSMEs, and that the visit of Nkere to the agency was commendable.

    He added that the agency was well- positioned to create jobs and alleviate poverty and ready to work with the NDDC in implementing its work plan for the development of the region.

    Radda said the agency has 23 Industrial Development Centres (IDCs) nationwide, which provide technical manpower for industries , adding that four of these centres are located in the Niger Delta Region.

    He lamented that facilities in the IDCs are dilapidated with most of the equipment obsolete coupled with the problem of land encroachment.

    The Director-General however stated that the Agency received a grant from the African Development Bank (ADB) to study how the IDCs can be turned around to become enterprise clusters.

    According to him, SMEDAN is planning to convert the IDCs into enterprise clusters where enterprises involved in similar products and activities will be located in the same place with all necessary machines, equipment and trainings provided for them.

    He emphasised that being in the same location makes it easier for regulatory agencies to monitor their performances for financial institutionsto enable provide loans and help to facilitate linkage to markets for their products and services.

    Radda assured the NDDC chief that SMEDAN would collaborate with his commission to see how both institutions could develop the IDCs in the Niger Delta Region.

  • SMEDAN signs pact on job creation

    The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with five clusters  for the pilot of its One Local Government One Product (OLOP) initiative.

    At the signing, its Director-General, Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, said pilot studies, conducted with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) support in Kano and Niger states, revealed that the initiative has the potential to turn around the economy, especially in  job creation, agribusiness, and to reduce rural-urban migration.

    He noted that the OLOP initiative is dear to SMEDAN, adding that the success of the pilot run will determine the future of the programme.

    He told the beneficiaries that their performance was key in determining the level of support the Federal Government would continue to give to OLOP.

    Radda  said: “It is also with a sense of fulfillment that I am letting you know that SMEDAN has been working assiduously on your behalf to realise the objectives of the Projects.”

    He said some of the pre-and post- expectations and deliverables of the programme included sensitisation and needs assessment, entrepreneurship development, plant layout and joint identification of equipment and the provision of the type of equipment needed for their development, which was already mutually agreed between the clusters and SMEDAN.

    Radda stressed that the agency has provided working capital to enable them run their businesses as well as provide mitigation of the interest rate and 30 per cent of the total loan portfolio.

    He added that the banks would grant them three months’ moratorium to enable them stabilise before they start the repayment of the interest free loan, while the agency expect repayment within 18 months.

    He solicited the cooperation of the beneficiaries in interest-free loan repayment.

    “This is, particularly, important as your performance will either encourage or discourage further participations by the banks. I am positive that you will all be role models,” he said.

    Radda assured the beneficiaries that SMEDAN would continue to support all entrepreneurs by providing the required information and training to them.

    He urged them to take advantage of the opportunities being presented by this programme, saying the multiplier effect of this initiative on the economy could not be overestimated in view of the recession in the economy and the drive of the Federal Government to enhance the competitiveness of the non-oil sector.

  • Focus less on finance, SMEDAN tells MSMEs

    Lagos State District Coordinator of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Yinka Fisher, has urged entrepreneurs in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to develop workable innovative ideas and expand business network rather than lament on the problem of accessing finance.

    Fisher stated this Friday while speaking on the topic, “Unlocking youths’ entrepreneurship potential for national economic development” at the Trek Entrepreneurship Lecture.

    He said: “The problem of finance is not an immediate problem for entrepreneurs as finance will be easily accessed if business is properly placed.

    “One thing we keep telling people is that you cannot run a business alone and that is why you must network with a synergy of different people so that at the end of the day whatever is your own weakness would be the strength of your partners and the weak point of your partners can be your own strength.”

    Fisher stated that many small and medium enterprises are unable to access finances primarily due to lack of information as well as their inability to meet specified requirements which include realistic business plans and provision of loans collateral.

    He said: “When we talk about finance, finance availability is in abundance but what is your ability to know how to tap into it? You must be able to provide a business plan. Let us see your business plan.

    “Of course, it is not enough for someone to come and say that I am looking for finance without knowing what kind of business that person is into and what business direction that person is looking at.

    “So, for finance to be properly accessed, first thing first is to understand what it takes to establish an enterprise and when your business is properly established, you would know how to source for your finance. Providing information on funding are some of the things MSMEs can get from SMEDAN as an institution of government.”

  • Osinbajo inaugurates National MMSE Council to drive economic growth, job creation

    Osinbajo inaugurates National MMSE Council to drive economic growth, job creation

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday announced the reduction of the membership of National Council on Micro, Medium, and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) from 43 to 21.

    Osinbajo said at the inauguration of the council that the reduction  was  to ensure  effectiveness and proper coordination.

    “This Council shall be the apex body on MSMEs development in the country, providing guidance and coordination on the establishment of strategies and policies for the wholesome support of MSME development in Nigeria.

    “The next few years will be decisive for Nigeria in many profound ways.

    “Our ability to create a modern industrial economy able to provide livelihoods for millions and a future for multiples will be tested.

    “The challenge calls for our sharpest minds and best talents.

    “And you ladies and gentlemen who form this council are of that required caliber, we simply cannot afford to fail.’’

    The vice president described the council as a fresh, streamlined and refocused National Council on MSME.

    He said that the council “was the coordinating platform for the implementation of all development programmes within the sub sector, especially the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP)’’.

    He said NEDEP was the administration’s repackaged and strategic platform to deliver growth and sustainability within the MSMEs subsector.

    He said the importance of the MSMEs was enormous as they were the bedrock of the nation’s industrialization and inclusive economic development and also the most important component of industrialization.

    “This is the primary driver of employment, wealth creation and poverty alleviation for our government,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo recalled the survey by SMEDAN and National Bureau of Statistics showing that over 37 million MSMEs existed in the country employing no fewer than 59.7 million persons, contributing 48.4 per cent to GDP and 7.27 per cent to exports.

    He, therefore, said that if each MSME employed an additional person the administration would create over 37 million extra jobs.

    “With NEDEP we are making MSMEs a central part of our national growth and economic policy.

    “”This is a new model for national enterprise development and would reach every one of the 774 local governments in Nigeria.

    “”We have identified and are supporting at least one product in each of the local governments based on each local government’s area of competitive and comparative advantage.

    “”NEDEP will unlock the Nigerian MSMEs sub sector by resolving the issues that most small businesses have to contend with.

    “”These are access to finance, access to markets, weak business development dearth of technical skills, lack of infrastructure and insufficient market information,’’ he said.

    The VP said that with NEDEP the administration would create enterprise zones with the required infrastructure for small businesses to succeed.

    Osinbajo said the programme would transform the country through employment generation, facilitating economic linkages and engendering rural industrialization.

    ““As we look ahead, it is important that we not only sustain the momentum of NEDEP and other development programmes such as the highly successful nation-wide MSME clinics but we must coordinate their impact for effectiveness and sustainability.

    ““This is the crucial relevance of the National Council on MSMEs,’’ he said.

    “The Council will effectively coordinate the enterprise development efforts made by the various tiers of government, International Development Partners (IDP) and the private sector towards job creation, wealth creation and poverty alleviation in Nigeria.

    “The Council will draw its membership from the public and private sectors and its secretariat shall be the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

    “”It is important to re-emphasize the point that this Council will have the same success delivery platform as the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Committee (PEBEC).

    The VP outlined the responsibilities of the Council to include coordinating the activities of all stakeholders in both the private and public sectors to ensure that all efforts and activities are geared towards the priority sectors of the economy.

    Others are guiding the Federal Government on the formulation of broad policies and strategies to drive the wholesome development of the MSMEs sub-sector in Nigeria.

    The council will be coordinating the roles and responsibilities of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies  (MDAs), State and Local Governments and other stakeholders responsible for MSME development.

    It will be promoting inter-agency synergy and cooperation in MSME development and encouraging and strengthening Public-Private-   Partnership and Public-Public-Partnership in MSME development.

    It is to ensure the creation of an enabling environment to facilitate the development of MSME clusters,     infrastructure upgrade, access to finance, MSME capacity building and fostering increased awareness and ensuring  stakeholders’ buy-in on MSME development   programmes, initiatives and projects.

    The council will also ensure the institution of an effective framework for monitoring and evaluating the impact of MSME policies, programmes, projects and initiatives as well as ensure that the principles of the National Policy on MSMEs are achieved and reviewed as the need arises.

    The minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar, in an address said the Council looked forward to creating an MMSE sub-sector that could drive the administration’s diversification programme.

    Also the D-G of SMEDAM, Dr Dikko Radda, said that the inauguration was good for the development of the economic sector and showed the importance the administration had given to MSMEs in the development of the nation’s economy.

    According to him, the creation of additional 37 million jobs being proposed to the council, will eliminate joblessness in the country.

  • ‘ITF ‘ll partner Bol, SMEDAN on ‘dominant trade’ in 18 states’

    ‘ITF ‘ll partner Bol, SMEDAN on ‘dominant trade’ in 18 states’

    THE Industrial Training Fund (ITF) will soon move into 18 states to train youths on “dominant trade” in their locality.

    Its Director-General /Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Joseph N. Ari, spoke yesterday when he visited The Nation’s Head Office in Lagos.

    Some of the 18 states involved in the agency’s National Industrial Skills Development programme (NISDP) are Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Edo, Ekiti and Enugu.

    Others are Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Taraba and Yobe.

    On how the programme operates, he said the dominant trade and skill upgrade was usually chosen by governors on areas where states have competitive advantage or skill gaps.

    He said the training programme would take-off next month in partnership with Small and Medium Enterprises, Development  Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), an agency saddled with the responsibility of establishing cooperatives  for graduates .

    The second partner is Bank of Industry (Bol), which is expected to provide the seed capital for graduate trainees.

    The ITF boss regretted the large number of unemployed youths and the nation’s growing population.

    Ari stressed that if nothing is done urgently to tackle the problem, it will create a huge challenge for the country.

    He said the idea behind the programme was that each state government should provide the starter parks for the trainees to start-off smoothly in their chosen areas of specialisation.

     Ari said his agency was working in accordance with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s vision on job creation and entrepreneurship.

    “ITF is also partnering with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Graduate Up-skill  Programme  to impact skillful knowledge on fresh graduates to make them employable. Others are entrepreneurs, who will in future be employers of labour,” he said.

    On the vocational trade areas in which they will be engaged, he said: “ITF will conduct training in aluminum fabrication, tye and dye, hair dressing and cosmetology, tilling and domestic electrical installation. Others are ICT, welding, fabrication, tailoring and garment, culinary skills, shoes and bag-making. We will also train them in event management, fisheries, crop production, poultry production and Plaster of Paris (POP),” he added.

    Also, as part of efforts to reduce unemployment and foster national growth, the ITF has entered into a partnership with the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) to develop skilled professionals.

    Ari said this when he visited NECA’s Director General Olusegun Osinowo in Lagos.

    He noted that with the country’s rapid population growth, it should be able to export skilled professionals and by so doing, attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).

    According to him, NECA was chosen as the first port of call in his administration’s advocacy plan for the Organised Private Sector (OPS) because he believes with NECA, ITF would achieve its set goals for the good of the country.

    He said: “We are on the path of proper alignment with President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy of social, economic and industrial growth. We are aware of the importance of skills in national and economic growth. That is why we are focused on ensuring to equip our people with various skills.”

    Osinowo congratulated Ari on his appointment as ITF boss, assuring that he would bring about the desired change.

    He urged him to put his expertise to bear and come up with solutions that would take the country out of recession.