Ogun State authorities, Tuesday, recorded one other important milestone in its effort to advertise the entrepreneurial capability of its individuals on the 2nd version of the nationwide Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) clinic held in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The initiative noticed the Federal Authorities granting 200 Exhibitors a money reward of N15000, whereas a further 200 store homeowners at Adire Worldwide market additionally earned N100,000 every.
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, made this announcement on the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, venue of the occasion.
The gesture aligns with the general goal of the host governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, to advertise home-grown enterprise as a catalyst for industrial improvement.
As research have proven, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential for native financial improvement, taking part in a significant function in job creation, poverty alleviation, and financial development.
In all economies of the world, developed and underdeveloped, SMEs contribute closely to the event of varied sectors resembling manufacturing, agriculture, and ICT companies.
Certainly, there’s a reciprocal relationship between an SME and the financial system. Growth within the financial system ensures the creation of extra SMEs.
The creation of extra SMEs ensures a lift within the financial system. They’re the spine of the financial system, contributing to job creation, financial development, and neighborhood improvement.
Small companies make use of tens of millions of individuals worldwide. Subsequently, the occasion couldn’t have come at a greater time than now when the nation’s financial system is in its most making an attempt interval, grappling with poverty, inflation and rising youth unemployment.
By prioritizing the event of SMEs, not solely that the federal government intend to spice up employment era, but additionally ginger small companies to foster financial development of their communities.
This job creation in flip improves people’ livelihoods but additionally enhances the general financial well-being of the native space. These are a part of the motivation for organising nationwide Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) clinics.
The Vice President, talking additional on the importance of the occasion, mentioned the MSME clinic would function a bridge between the individuals and the federal government, including that it could function a lifeline for enterprises within the state and the nation as an entire. He mentioned: “Every exhibitor current on the clinic right this moment stands to achieve from our MSME instantaneous grant of N150,000 every, courtesy of our esteemed personal sector and His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“I hereby announce that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that nearly 200 new purposes inside this market be granted freed from cost to small enterprise merchants for one 12 months and every of them ought to take pleasure in a grant of N100,000.”
In acknowledgment of the transformation that has taken place below the management of Governor Abiodun, Senator Shettima described Ogun State as the commercial powerhouse of the nation, noting the help and dedication of his administration to the Federal Authorities’s efforts to advertise enterprises and empowerment of the individuals.
He mentioned his coming to Ogun State signified the necessity to help companies and remodel concepts into commercially viable ventures, saying the 2nd section of the Expanded SMSME Clinics was a strategic intervention to fortify the muse of small companies, which commenced in Benue State early this 12 months.
“The clinics function a hyperlink between the individuals and authorities. Small Companies at the moment are afforded platforms to current their enterprise challenges, and search well timed intervention of financial businesses all in an try and get rid of the duty of navigating from one company to a different of their efforts to construct the following unicorn out of Africa,” Shettima mentioned.
The Vice President thanked Governor Abiodun for supporting the Federal Authorities to carry the nation’s financial system again on observe. On his half, Abiodun disclosed that his administration had launched the Small and Medium Enterprises Industrial Land Acquisition Scheme (SILAS), stating that the scheme was a 1,000-Hectare Industrial hub supplied with wanted facilities like good roads, and energy, amongst others.
“The SME Park is geared toward offering incentives to SMEs means beneath the market price. There will likely be many incentives by way of industrial possession and accelerated processing of their CoOs which can be utilized as collateral for additional financing.
“Different advantages of the park will embody rebates on taxes and levies resembling Land Use Expenses (LUC), constructing permits, land processing charges, and so on. This park will cowl agro-allied, agro-processing, residence and private care constructing supplies and chemical substances, meals processing,” the governor mentioned.
To help the federal authorities in repositioning the nation’s financial system, Governor Abiodun mentioned the State would supply incentives like conditional grants of N100,000 to 10,000 MSMSE, N500,000 given to 2,000 SMEs, and N50,000 to five,000 market girls within the State.
The Vice President had earlier commissioned the Fashionable Adire Shared Facility at Adire Worldwide Market Asero, and the Nationwide MSME Clinics, Extremely-Fashionable Style Hub, Ajebo Highway all in Abeokuta.
In accordance with him, the Clinic would permit small enterprise homeowners to fulfill regulatory our bodies just like the Nationwide Company for Meals, Drug Administration and Management (NAFDAC), Requirements Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Company Affairs Fee (CAC), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), and others in addition to function grant displays to certified MSMEs.
The Vice President additionally inaugurated the Style Hub mission on the Previous OGTV auditorium the place over 150 stateof-the-art tailoring gear have been offered for stakeholders within the style trade in addition to the Adire shared facility at Asero, Abeokuta.
Tuesday’s occasion merely added to what the Abiodun administration already had within the plan for the sustainable development of Ogun State as a most popular funding vacation spot.
So, it isn’t a one-off factor. A number of different notable endeavours geared toward fostering the event of producing industries in addition to small and medium-scale companies have been imitated and carried out primarily based on an built-in grasp plan already put in place by Governor Abiodun to actualise his transformative agenda.
This features a huge community of street infrastructures, the Ease-of-Doing-Enterprise, land reform, and an Worldwide Agro Cargo Airport to facilitate export promotion and worth addition to agro-allied merchandise, amongst others.
In furtherance of its effort to meaningfully empower the youths, final week, the Ogun State authorities in collaboration with Worldwide Companions organised a coaching programme the place 100,000 SMSEs, Youths had been uncovered to rising applied sciences to boost their capability as world gamers within the rising digital financial system courtesy of GetFundedAfrica Applied sciences (GFAT), Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
Delivering a keynote tackle throughout the official launch of the coaching at OgunTechHub, Abeokuta, tagged: ‘Gateway Abilities Programme,’ the Chairman, Senate Committee on Info and Communication Know-how (ICT) and Cyber Safety, Senator Shuaib Salisu, mentioned the empowerment was a possibility for SMSEs and youths to be self-reliant, get outfitted with related expertise expertise enabling them improve to digital advertising and marketing.
Senator Salisu, who expressed optimism that the programme would revive the financial scenario in Nigeria, mentioned the state had the potential to drive the programme to realize the specified purpose.
Additionally talking, Particular Adviser (SA) to the Governor on ICT, Mr. Dayo Abiodun, mentioned the partnership with Microsoft, Google, and others was a deliberate try by the state authorities to reveal small enterprise homeowners, in addition to younger graduates to hidden advantages of the digital financial system, calling on beneficiaries to get registered, skilled, licensed and begin working instantly, amongst different alternatives.
The co-founder, GFAT, Mr. Adebowale Omololu, defined that the programme was designed for SMSEs and younger graduates in Ogun, to be the primary beneficiaries earlier than different states, giving them the mandatory help to develop carriers in ICT, entry finance and mentorship to develop their companies, noting that digital financial system was a pathway for thriving entrepreneurship.
“We selected Ogun State first amongst others due to the business-friendly ambiance created by Prince Dapo Abiodun. So, a portal will likely be opened for SMSEs to register; we are going to take them by way of completely different coaching periods, upscale their services to a tech neighborhood, and assist them entry grants from worldwide and native companions.
“Additionally, job seekers can have direct or oblique alternatives, thereby selling digital advertising and marketing that may, in the long term, enhance income and place Ogun State on a excessive pedestal,” he mentioned. That is even because the British Envoy applauded the Ogun State authorities on industrialisation drive. Giving the commendation on Friday, the Deputy British Excessive Commissioner, Mr. Jonny Baxter, who led a staff from the British Excessive Fee, Lagos, to the Workplace of the Deputy Governor, Engr. (Mrs.) Noimot Salako-Oyedele, expressed the Fee’s willingness to determine with the Ogun State authorities for improved financial and commerce relations.
He famous that the massive industrial presence throughout the State was a testomony to the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration’s dedication to making sure that the state stays the commercial capital of Nigeria.
Whereas describing Ogun as pivotal to Nigeria’s industrial base, given the varied financial alternatives that abound within the state, the British Envoy mentioned his authorities would collaborate with the state authorities, particularly on industrialisation and agriculture, to strengthen the agricultural worth chain for meals safety.
“For the reason that present financial realities throughout the globe name for easy and strategic measures, partnering with the federal government by way of packages that improve agriculture, in the direction of making it grow to be the mainstay of the financial system for the nice of the individuals, particularly the susceptible, is a proper step in the appropriate route,” he mentioned.
Responding, the deputy governor knowledgeable the delegation of the federal government’s dedication to sustaining a conducive setting for present companies to thrive. In distinction, new ones had been being facilitated into the state, stressing that making a conducive setting was the pull issue Governor Dapo Abiodun recognized on the inception of his administration.
Salako-Oyedele identified that the state was endowed with an expanse of arable land mass which was being judiciously utilized for financial achieve, including that 21,000 hectares of land had been put aside for rice and maize manufacturing, in the direction of reaching meals safety. She affirmed the continual engagement of stakeholders and gamers of trade just like the Producers Affiliation of Nigeria (MAN), on the benefit of doing enterprise with out degrading the setting, by way of Public Personal Partnership (PPP), including that the attendant issues related to industrialisation resembling migration, infrastructure deficit, and insecurity had been being appeared into.
Since Governor Abiodun assumed the mantle of management in 2019, the main target of his administration has been to create an enabling setting to draw native and international direct investments into the State.
Other than the community of street infrastructure throughout the three senatorial districts, steady enchancment within the Ease-of-Doing-Enterprise, and land reform initiative which offer attraction for buyers, the administration has additionally created 4 financial zones within the final 4 and a half years along with Agbara Industrial Zone, which incorporates Ota and Kajola axes.
At current, the Agbara Industrial Zone is arguably the most important industrial zone in Nigeria and doubtless one of many largest within the continent. It’s the zone that makes Ogun State the commercial capital of Nigeria.
The choice by the current authorities to create a further 4 zones isn’t solely to develop the financial alternatives that abound within the State but additionally makes it investor-friendly.