SMEDAN moves to validate reviewed National Policy to facilitate sustainable MSMEs

SMEDAN

By  Sani Abdulrahman

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), on Friday in Kaduna engaged stakeholders to get their inputs towards  the validation of the revised national policy document for sustainable Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that revised policies were on ICT revolution and innovation and developing symbiotic relationship and synergy among all the key MDAs to influence performance of MSMEs.

Others are the MSMEs mass registration program (MMRP), to formalise the largely informal MSMEs operators among others.

The Director- General (D-G) of SMEDAN, Dr Dikko Radda, said that the performance and wellbeing of the MSMEs subsector is largely dependent on the implementation of a functional National Policy on MSMEs.

Radda added that the stakeholders meeting was to engage the MSMEs subsectors of the economy, both public and private, with a view to validate the MSMEs policy document.

“The national policy on MSMEs is quite dynamic while the need to do a timely review of the policy document is further justified by certain interventions and initiatives both at national and global space.

“We have gone all over the county to seek opinions of the stakeholders to review the policy and put it into a document and present it to them so that we can validate it and take it up to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

“We will subsequently send the documents to the federal executive council for approval to become a policy for the MSMEs in the country,’’ he said.

The D-G added that the switch from National Economic Empowerment and Development strategy of the previous government to the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan necessitated the validation.

“The CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Scheme, major restructuring of the Power Holding Company into generation, transmission and distribution companies, the National Collateral Registry among others also necessitated the validation.

“To capture the inputs of critical stakeholders, we had to engage with the operators, researchers and enablers along a zonal arrangement of the country.

“With this, SMEDAN is hopeful that the revised National Policy will be able to facilitate and sustain a vibrant MSMEs subsector that will be the major driver of national economic growth and employment,’’ Radda said.

The Kaduna State Commissioner for  Business, Innovation and Technology, Mr Idris Nyam, said that the initiative was paramount to the development of Kaduna State and the country at large.

“In line with the Kaduna State Governor’s agenda for promoting business and providing employment for the teeming youths in the state, the idea of SMEDAN to coordinate, restructure and strengthen the MSMEs would be of great importance to our activities at the ministry.’’

He urged residents of the state to ensure payment of their dues and taxes to enable the government make businesses easier and effective in their various locations.(NAN)

SA/VIV/MZA

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Edited by Vivian Ihechu/Maharazu Ahmed