The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SMEs’

  • Why SMEs fail in Niger Delta

    The rate of small business failures in the NIGER DELTA is alarming, and if solutions are not proffered and the situation brought to the fore of national discourse, that good path of creating jobs and stimulating the Nigerian economy will begin to look dim. Donald Trump won the American election with one promise, “I will bring back jobs that left America and more jobs,” that is what affects the average man on the street, gainful employment.   In most economies, the government accounts for less than 10% of all gainfully, consistently employed people in their climes, while big business accounts for another 21%, the remaining 69% are employed by small and medium enterprises, ranging from the small shop owners to the hi-tech family businesses.

    The few non-oil sector businesses in the Niger Delta are running away, from tyre manufacturing, rubber factories in Sapele, timber sawmills in Benin, Sapele, Warri, Port-Harcourt and so on. Food processing industries in Yenagoa are leaving in droves. The lack of small thriving businesses relying on the pittance oil companies spend after remitting the bulk of their proceeds abroad with spurious excuses and doing most of their procurement in their home countries and exporting the jobs back home, while local economies are left insolvent,.

    The amnesty programme is doing a great job in agriculture by precisely tailoring agricultural production to meet industrial needs, and the government of the day is showing willingness to upturn the apple-cart of corruption by turning the mindset of the people towards productive employment instead of waiting for a share of the proverbial national cake.

    Modern business is about 5Ms: men, money, machines, management and materials. Two parameters stand out in determining the failure or success of “ANY” business venture, these are men and management, because the two concern human beings that need a conducive environment to function. No matter the height of technology at the disposal of the propagators of a business venture, humans must be at the helm of affairs

    Every revenue collection agency in the Niger Delta is run by thugs and there are so many of them representing virtually every tier and agent of government, numerous local governments. State and countless agencies all swooping like vultures on small businesses, from shop owners to transporters or any other business premises where income is generated.

    There are very few successful business owners in the Niger Delta, unlike those of eastern extraction who have a long history of sustainable trading, oil companies have not sustained employment of the youths and broken the trading link chain in most families where young ones prefer non-existent oil –field related skills to lifelong trading and entrepreneurial abilities. There are no home grown businesses to learn from.

    Proper training (not education) specialised, objective, professional training to enhance capacity to tap into the honey comb of small business management is completely none -existent.

    Banks don’t touch start-ups, the desk officers are more interested in sourcing funds to meet their target amounts than listening to a young dreamer (entrepreneur). These are the real problems; inconsistency, disinterest and lack of support for young businesses.

    Instead of shopping for foreign investors who will come to “rape” our economy  and “rip” our people off, because their major motivation will be repatriation of proceeds back home  at all cost, as we saw in the handling of Ajaokuta  and Aladja steel where even pellets on ground were exported to their home country, we can work with our Nigerian value addition consultants, employing foreign specialists to train Nigerians in the rudiments of entrepreneurial management, business mix management (5M.s), export, foreign market penetration techniques, specialised packaging, business development strategies to improve our capacity to attract foreign currency through legitimate trade while creating employment for our people.

    Who negotiates for Nigeria in the international community, is it an academic that is straightjacket one subject expert that is empty even in ordinary table manners, or a politician who is good at arranging youths to carry placards to keep them relevant in the centre to continue sharing the money or the civil servants whose job is ‘Yes Sir’ to Mr Big minister? That is why our steel plants don’t work and we can’t get a modular petroleum refinery.

     

    • By Anthony Idiovwa

    Warri, Delta State.

  • ‘How SMEs can raise finance’

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has launched a comprehensive initiative to finance small and medium enterprises (SMEs) aimed at helping them realise their growth potential.

    The bank’s Group Head, Strategy and Corporate Transformation, Yinka Adegboye, made this known during the First Emerging Entrepreneurs Conference, ”jointly organised by the United States Consulate in Lagos and Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD).

    Adegboye  listed the bank’s other initiatives geared towards youth empowerment in Nigeria to include Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES), a N10 billion fund to provide funds for youths; a partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) based on the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF); a N2 billion intervention fund established in 2014.

    He said the YES has already identified about 44 business clusters, adding that the partnership with the NYSC has been on for long and that BoI has over the years, developed a lot of products. “We have been disbursing to corps members who aspire to be entrepreneurs,” he said.

    According to him, the Federal Government has also earmarked N140 billion from its 2016 and 2017 budgets of about N500 billion for special intervention programmes. He said the bank will  manage and disburse the fund to about 1.6 million beneficiaries in the lowest segments of the pyramid, specifically market women, agricultural workers, artisans and youths.

    Executive Director, Business Development, Diamond Bank, Mrs. Chizoma Okoli, said Diamond Bank offers SMEs increased flexibility in the funding available and will help boost business growth, create more quality jobs and increase innovation.

    According to her, entrepreneurs have the potential to spur economic growth in their communities. She, however, regretted that many of them have difficulties accessing financing to launch or develop their businesses.

    She stated that there were  other ways to secure financing, including turning to other social formations, such as family units and money pools, which are provided without interest.

    FSD’s Executive Director, Ms Omowale Ogunrinde, emphasised the importance of providing appropriate financing to medium-sized companies. She said this will increase their employment capacity and ensure stable growth.

    She  said many would-be entrepreneurs lacked the advanced technical  knowledge needed to get ahead—either by cultivating new products or adding value to traditional  raw products.

    The US Consul-General in Lagos, Mr. John Bray, enjoined young Nigerian entrepreneurs to rededicate themselves to efficiently harnessing their entrepreneurial skills.

    Bray said: ”I am pleased that FSD/VTE and the Consulate were able to identify so many aspiring entrepreneurs among Young African Leadership Initiative network members in Nigeria.

    “I must let you all know that entrepreneurship can launch you on a path to change the world. Entrepreneurship can give you freedom to positively change your lives and that of your families.

    “I cannot think of any better reason to start your own businesses,” he said.

  • Why we’re funding SMEs, by Fidelity Bank

    Fidelity Bank Plc has reiterated its commitment to  funding Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), including operators in the entertainment industry.

    The bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who disclosed this at the ‘Fidelity SME Forum’ monitored on Inspiration FM, said the lender has strategy for SMEs sector.

    The programme was attended by popular comedian, Atunyota Akporobomerere, whose stage name is Ali Baba.

    Okonkwo said the bank was interested in adding value to the SMEs sector. “For about seven years , our strategy has been to focus on segments. A lot of people get entertained by musicians, they see people in the movie industry and get entertained. But as bankers, we look at the business components of what people do and how to transform those talents into business,” he said.

    “In the past, comedy was like people wearing funny clothes, dressed like clowns and made people laugh. But later, certain people like Ali Baba began to refine things and people realised that you can actually make a living out of comedy. The same thing with music and the movies. In the past, a lot of people did not see the business side of these things”.

    Fidelity Bank, he said, has  the Managed SMEs Unit ensuring that SMEs are supported.

    The lender, he said,  was planning to run a free seminar for operators in the industry.“We have seen superstars go down to penury, from being millionaires and billionaires and we don’t want that to happen to our entertainment industry players. So, that seminar would look at people who succeeded in the past and suddenly became poor because of management of their finances. Whether you are an Ali Baba, a Don Jazzy, P-Square, among others, what matters at the end of the day is how you are going to sustain your brand,” he added.

    Akporobomerere said: “First you must understand that showbiz is dynamic and you are as good as your last joke. So, like in every other kind of business, if you rely on old landmarks, you will lose the footprints of the future”.

    “So, for me, it is that I continue to make sure that I improve myself, I try to get better and that I am never complacent in my career. I try to make sure that I press the refreshal button all the time. For me, it is a case of trying to make sure you understand what the needs are. The current needs are what a practitioner in the entertainment industry should do”.

     

  • SON gets two months mandate on SMEs certification

    SON gets two months mandate on SMEs certification

    The Federal Government has mandated the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to galvanise the standardisation of all Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.  This will include the process of certifying locally-made products and ensuring they meet established standards and competitive quality for exports by removing hurdles on their resolve to get certification for their products.

    SON’s Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma stated this in Lagos at a management retreat with a theme “Repositioning the Standards Organisation of Nigeria for optimal performance in a diversified economy.”

    Aboloma confirmed the receipt of the mandate from the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo. He said Osinbajo directed that SON should through their mandate ease the hurdles for business. He said SON is poised to bring its competencies and expertise in the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) with measures to drive the economy. He pledged to reposition SMEs to be in the front burner in efforts to ensure effective implementation of the NIRP.

    The SON chief further said they would reposition standardization and quality assurance activities with a view to creating the enabling environment for investments and production of goods and services in the country to improve the ease of doing business and encourage exports.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah said the current economic downturn necessitates the development of various initiatives by various arms of government, which include the recovery and growth plan by the ministry to resuscitate collapsed industries.

    He said the ministry is also poised to boosting trade, attracting responsible foreign direct investments, to reinvigorate Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and enhance patronage for locally manufactured goods.

    He urged SON to reinvigorate her strategies in the fight against the influx and distribution of substandard products as part of measures to protect the local industries from unfair competition and reposition them for export trade to earn the most desired foreign exchange and check recession.

    Enelamah said: “The global collapse of commodity prices undoubtedly provides a golden opportunity for Nigeria to develop its endowed domestic capacity in terms of production and consumption. The implication of this is the increased demand for your organisation services nationwide. Your participation in the ongoing MSME clinic surely provides you the feel of Nigerians and the work that lies ahead in furtherance of the Ease of Doing Business Initiative.”

  • Fidelity Bank reiterates support for SMEs

    Fidelity Bank Plc has pledged commitment to help Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the Southeast grow its economy.

    Its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nnamdi Okonkwo, disclosed this during the bank’s customer forum last week. The bank flagged off its nationwide customer engagement programme with Connecting with You as its theme, with the twin events in Owerri and Onitsha.

    Okonkwo, who expressed delight at the level of support and patronage, said the bank also needed to reciprocate by supporting them with finance to grow their businesses.

    He promised to hold a more detailed educative session with businesses and entrepreneurs to help them grow their export businesses as a way of diversifying and solving the foreign exchange challenges.

    “Our people are entrepreneurial in nature and there are plenty of small businesses all over the place.

    “Some have export ideas, but the documentations involved, they do not know. We are going to provide a more structured access to quality information that can help your business,” he told his audience.

    Okonkwo said the lender has disbursed N2.3 billion to 102 customers to support their businesses, saying so far, the loans are doing well.

    “What we appeal to people is to ensure that they always pay back when they receive loans from the bank, so far, our loans are doing well and we do not have incidences of bad loan,” he said.

    Chairman, Board of Directors, Fidelity Bank Plc, Ernest Ebi, who  graced both Owerri andOnitsha events, said the bank had, over the years, become a big bank that cannot be ignored by any serious business concern, and has remained true to helping its customers break new frontiers in business. “We are here to connect with our customers, and let them know that we do not take them for granted, and that we are ready to help them out with their businesses,” he said.

    This sentiment was echoed by the bank’s Executive Director, South, Mrs. Aku Odinkemelu, who said the bank placed a lot  of premium on its customers.

    This, he said, informed the decision to bring executive management and board to meet directly with them with the customer fora.

    “We don’t take our customers for granted. We value your feedback and will use this unique opportunity of engaging directly with you to organise to serve you better,” she promised.

  • ‘NASSI committed to SMEs’

    The Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) has restated its commitment to the growth and development of small and medium scale enterprises.

    Giving this charge at the weekend was Mr. Segun Kuti-George, Chairman of NASSI, Lagos Chapter.

    He spoke at the official launch of the Lagos Island chapter of NASSI in Lagos.

    Justifying the need for the new chapter, Kuti-George said: “This is something that we have been dreaming about for a long time. That is having chapters of NASSI all over Lagos state. Lagos is the commercial nerve center of the country with over 22 million people. About forty per cent of businesses in Nigeria are in Lagos. We have a big role to play here but all past efforts have not been yielding results.”

    The NASSI boss while paying glowing tribute the team led by Ms Kemi Ilori, who according to him, finally made the launch possible. “They have put in their personal and corporate resources to ensure that we are able to do this today. The purpose is to be able to spread the tentacles of the association that represents the interest of kitchen micro and small and medium enterprises in Lagos state. The state has a minimum of 49 local government and LCDAs and it would not be too much for us if we have 49 chapters. However, I would say that it is always good to dream big but start small.”

    While reiterating the agency’s commitment to small businesses, he said: “It is a regrettable that we are living in poverty in spite of the enormous resources available. I always tell people that Nigeria has no business with poverty.”

  • SMEs seek cassava chips’ export opportunities

    SMEs seek cassava chips’ export opportunities

    Tranforming cassava into an industrial input is providing income opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Transformation of cassava from a root crop to a prized industrial input is creating business opportunities for Nigerians. Several orders to meet rapidly rising demand from livestock feeds producers, starch and biofuel markets have created huge earnings in foreign currencies.

    In fact,  the Country Manager, AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, Mr Ayo Balogun, said the market demand for cassava is so high. The result is that so many entrepreneurs are moving into the sector to grow cassava as a cash crop. This has made cassava one of the most dynamic in the agricultural sector, helping to drive industrial development while delivering higher incomes to agro entrepreneurs.

    Balogun said the exchange was seeking to match capable Nigerians with both  domestic and   burgeoning export  demand  for   cassava chips.

    His plan is to work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria to  improve the livelihoods of Nigerians  by engaging  with  investors  to explore  markets in  Asia, looking  for  products from  cassava  for  business enterprises  that can  process  and  transform the  produce  into higher value food and industrial products – from noodles, glucose,  and maltose to textiles, pharmaceuticals, cardboard and glue.

    Agribusiness Specialist,Dr.  Nelson Abila, said the  market for cassava chips will  have  resultant benefits for exporters.  According to him, it  is  important cassava  yields  improve to sustain the growth of the  industry.

    He  said that  entrepreneurs seeking to enter the market will need to do their due diligence, just like they would for entering any market, including a thorough market feasibility study and establishing a clear strategy for entry, adding that  UNDP is working  with AFEX to help  Nigerians  to make  money  through  production of cassava chips.

    Explaining the process of producing cassava chips for export, Chief Executive, Tropical Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Anthony Uwadegu Egba, said it begins with drying of the cassava roots to remove most of the moisture from the fresh root to obtain a product that can be stored for long periods of time without problems of deterioration.

    His words: “The natural drying system takes advantage of solar energy and the drying action of the wind to evaporate moisture from the cassava roots. The procedure involves several operations, among which the principal ones are: harvesting the roots, weighing, and chipping, drying, packing and storing the dried product.”

    He noted that it was necessary to wash the roots before they are chipped but these are optional operations, depending upon the requirements of the market.

    For the chips to dry as quickly as possible, Egba noted that it was important  to expose as much of their surface as possible to the air.

    This is done by cutting the roots into small, uniform chips, which can be done by a chipping machine.  If at all possible, he advised that the roots should be submitted to quality control when they are harvested, removing pieces of stem that may be attached, as well as stones and clumps of dirt that may have fallen into the packing sacks; and checking if root rots are present.

    To  prevent rejection, he said once harvested, the roots should be taken to the plant quickly so that they can be processed  immediately.

    This is  because roots that have been out  of the ground for more than 24-48 hours  deteriorate rapidly, and are more likely to  suffer fungal and contamination. This lowers the quality of the final product and may even lead to its rejection by the buyer.

    During drying,he  said the chips  should be spread over concrete floors, in such a way that they are exposed to the direct action of solar radiation and to the latent heat from the surrounding air currents. The stage, according to him, includes two basic operations: spreading the chips in the drying area and turning them frequently until they are completely dry. When the chips have reached an adequate level of moisture content, that is,12 to14 per cent moisture, he advised  that they should be collected and packed.

    He explained that the plant should have a warehouse available for storing the dried cassava chips until they are transported to the market. “The dried cassava chips are packed into 50kg sacks and the sacks should be stored on wooden pallets. When the conditions for storage are optimal, the cassava that has been dried adequately ( 12-14% moisture content) can be stored for long periods of time (6-12 months) without deteriorating in quality.”

  • SMEs plead for forex rules’ relaxation

    Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), President Saviour Iche  has called on the  government to  relax  foreign exchange rules  hindering   small businesses from importing  critical  production raw materials .

    Speaking  with The Nation, Iche  said  businesses  have been   hampered by a number of factors this year – from rising  raw materials prices, to dwindling industrial output  attributed to the depreciation of the Naira  against  US dollar. Iche  expressed  fears that the  sector  was  not   expecting a robust economic growth over the long term, with the   difficulties experienced by  businesses  depending on foreign sourced  raw materials to produce goods  at  prices affordable to Nigerians.

    According to him, the low level of investments in infrastructure was not supporting strong growth in other sectors across the wider economy.

    In line with the decline in confidence, he said fewer small businesses anticipated turnover and profit to increase over the year.

    According to him, smaller businesses are absolutely key to the success of the economy, and indeed to the success of local economies in every part of the country.

    Despite the deterioration in the confidence index, he said the small firms had created more jobs, expressing concerns that small businesses may not be able to continue investment nor increase capital investment in the year ahead.

    He expressed confidence  that  inadequacies of current conventions in categorizing  SMEs  has   lead to serious distortions in

    the allocation of funds   for  the   sector’s  development.

    He  explained that the volume of turnover of a business is in general a more appropriate measure of its relative size than either of the more conventional measurements by number of employees or value of assets,  which is used to differentiate  the different classes of  SMEs.

    For small business to grow, Iche noted that the sector needs a diversified base that will serve consumers while fostering local comparative advantages, creating jobs and sustaining the economy. To promote the growth of a greater percentage of the universe of SMEs into new large firms ,he  stressed that the SMEs development policy will need, above all, to focus on mechanisms to improve  access to long-term finance.  According to him , any SME policy seeking to accelerate growth in the sector will need to specifically target expanded funding.

    He  reiterated  that  SMEs are an important part of the economy and employ a large part of the population. Yet, less than 20 percent of SMEs can access  long-term credit, which makes it difficult for them to grow and compete against other SMEs.

    Iche urged the government to encourage  banks to  provide long-term funds to enable SMEs to purchase new equipment, expand their business premises, upgrade their technology, and scale up their business operations.

    As in many rapidly-developing economies, he noted that business regulations need to change to boost Gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

    He called on the government to simplify the regulatory maze, reducing compliance costs for businesses as well as reform tax payment processes to support the creation, survival and growth of SMEs.

    According to him, more needs to be done to foster a greater scale of SME development, essentially required for the country to achieve more sustainable and inclusive growth.

  • FG gives NAFDAC two weeks ultimatum to register SMEs

    The Federal Government on Tuesday directed the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to register all Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) exhibitors at the ongoing 1st Nigeria Food Safety and Investment Forum within two weeks.

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, gave the order at the forum organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum is designed to enhance food safety and foster international business cooperation.

    Adewole also ordered that all the SMEs should be given 50 per cent rebate certification registration by NAFDAC.

    He also mandated the agency to compile the list of the affected SMEs exhibitors who were finding it difficult getting certification and ensure that the process was concluded within the next two weeks.

    The minister, however, said food borne diseases impedes socio-economic development by straining healthcare systems and arming national economies, tourism and trades.

    “Food safety incidents have had negative effects on public health, trades and livelihoods and on countries’ economies,” NAN quoted the minister as saying at the forum.

    “People are consequently exposed to significant risks of food contamination.

    “Unsafe foods containing harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites are indicated in over 200 diseases ranging from diarrhoea to cancer.

    “An estimate shows that about 600 million people accounting for one in 10 globally fall ill after eating contaminated food.

    “And about 420,000 die every year; in addition, children under five years old carry 40 per cent of the food-borne disease burden with 125,000 deaths every year.”

  • Osinbajo enlivens SMEs in Aba

    Osinbajo enlivens SMEs in Aba

    The visit of Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo to Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, to flag off the maiden edition of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic lifted the spirits of small business owners who turned up in droves, reports SUNNY NWANKWO

    On January 24, the acting President and Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic. At the launch, in Abuja, Osinbajo said, “Nigerians complain about how practically difficult it is to get approval on practically everything. When I toured the nation with the support of USAID, the whole idea was to signal our support MSMEs and to find out what their problems were. But almost every stand I went to had complaints about how it was so difficult to get approvals for practically anything. I was frankly taken aback on that occasion because practically every point we went to had the same complaint. We also went to Kano on one of our social intervention programmes and it was the same problem, same issues.”

    On Thursday, January 26, Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State and the Southeast was agog as traders’ unions from every part of the state moved their wares to the Golf Course of the Aba Sports Club were Prof Osinbajo was to flag off the SMEs clinics.

    The event provided the acting president and government agencies such as Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Nigeria Export Promotion Council, and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC), among others, the opportunity to register, certify and approve the use and consumption of several products.

    The August visitor could not hide his amazement at the craftsmanship and the technological ingenuity of the people of Aba who will virtually replicate almost manually what their counterparts overseas in some cases may not use their machines to produce or replicate. No wonder owners of shipping companies and other conglomerates have so much relied on the ingenuity of Aba fabricators to keep their ships afloat on our waterways.

    The event also gave the traders high hopes that the incumbent government of President Buhari mean well for the SME’s. This as some of them in a chat with The Nation expressed hope that the steps taken by the federal government would help to reduce some of the challenges they face in registering their products, importing raw materials and exporting finished goods to other parts of the world.

    Speaking after the inspection, the Vice President assured the Aba SMEs of the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to support the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Abia and other states of the federation to grow the country’s economy in the face of the present economic challenges.

    Osinbajo who described the SMEs as the highest employers of labour and engine house of every great nation’s economy said that President Buhari has great interest in the growth of the SMEs and stressed that it was the intention of the incumbent administration to make the industry to compete favourably and to even surpass their counterparts at the global stage.

    He said that the essence of visiting Aba, Kano, Nnewi, Onitsha and any other parts of the country is to interact with the people, identify their problems and as well finding a lasting way to tackle some of the challenges that are hindering the SMEs from performing optimally.

    “Mr. President gave two examples of how some of our agencies make it difficult for people to be able to register anything or do business and I think that everybody today understands that if we are talking about diversification of Improving our economy, it starts from those who are manufacturing, those who are doing local manufacturing. I am sure you know that the biggest employer of labour and the largest earning to our GDP comes from the local manufacturers and the local industries; that is how it is in everywhere in the world. Our focus is to support the local industry. I have seen all sorts of things today. I want to encourage those who are in manufacturing and industry to know that whatever that it will get you to do you business well and to become major competitors worldwide, that is exactly what we intend to do and that is why we are going round, we are making sure that we understand what the problems are so that we can be able to address all of those problems. We are looking forward to a greater Aba, an Aba that will compete with any of the industries that are established in China and any other part of the world.”

    Earlier in his remarks, the State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu said that the choice for Aba for the flag off of the MSME Clinics was apt and that Aba merited it.

    Ikpeazu who hailed the resilience of Aba manufacturers and industrialists said that the state government was working assiduously to ensure that the goods of the SMEs produced in Aba will get the requisite certification to meet best global practices and standard.

    Lauding the energy that the Aba manufacturers deploy in producing their wares, Ikpeazu said he was excited that the efforts of the state government in promoting Aba made wares have been receiving acceptance and at the same time, getting the endorsement of the President of the country, Muhammadu Buhari.

    The governor urged the manufacturers to be proud of what they produce, adding that the state government was building “a one-stop shop specifically to make businesses to excel” and promised that the state would be giving land freely to any agency of the federal government involved in the certification of locally manufactured goods that wishes to establish its office(s) in any part of the state.

    In their separate reactions, some of the traders at the event, including Mr. Fidelis Offor, Christian Madukwem amongst other traders from Ariaria International market thanked the federal government and Abia State government for their initiatives.

    They were unanimous that if the Bank of Industry (BoI) and other commercial banks gives them soft loans with low interest rate, concerned government agencies register and approve their products without being exploitative and making the process of registration and certification of products cumbersome, that they would help the country raise its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) especially now that the country is facing economic recession and the federal and state government respectively talking about economic diversification.

    The traders while calling on the federal government to address the issue of poor electricity supply and road network in the state and other parts of the country, this is even as they also lamented excessive levies and taxes by agencies of government who most times doesn’t remit such monies to government coffers.

    The traders expressed hope that the multiplier effects of the SME’s Clinics will be beneficial to both the government and traders if the state and federal government would back their plans with action.

    The event attracted various dignitaries across the state and country including the Hon. Minister for Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelama, Hon. Ossy Prestige, member representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Abia State Deputy Governor, Sir Ude Okochukwu, State Commissioner of trade and investment, Chief Henry Ikoh and amongst others