Aganga promises better days for SMEs

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun
Aganga, has said that Federal Government is currently
engaging all stakeholders in the private sector including the
small and medium enterprises operators in policies
formulation and other issues that concern business
development and economic growth in the country.
Aganga, who stated this at a workshop recently in Lagos,
disclosed that the Federal Government has approved the
creation of SMEs industrial zones where various SMEs
operators can converge to enjoy lowest cost amenities in the
running of their businesses.
He said the Council for Small and Medium Enterprises
inaugurated by the Federal Government has been saddled with
the responsibility of proffering solutions to the challenges of
the sub-sector, adding that it has found out the various
challenges militating against the development of SMEs and
was ready to address them through its inclusive economic
policy.
“As you know, the focus of this government is on inclusive
economy and you can’t have inclusive economy if you don’t
focus on micro, small and medium enterprises. They are the
engines of any economy anywhere in the world. What the
government is doing now is to make sure that we fully
understand the barriers, the problems SMEs have, and to have
an institutional approach to address their issues. We know
they have issues in terms of finance, we know they have
issues in terms of cost of operation, we know they have issues
in terms of market access, in terms of modern technology, all
these areas are the areas the new council established by the
President will be addressing, and one of the ways to address
the issues of their cost of production is to make sure they
have dedicated SME industrial zones legally,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President of the Nigerian Association of
Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture,
NACCIMA, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, who commended the
government on its various efforts geared towards the
development of SMEs and especially the newly established
Council for SMEs, noted that the partnership between the
private sector, government and the media is moving the sector
forward as he advocated a stronger synergy that would move
the sector to the level of the global standard.
Commenting on agriculture development in the country,
Badaru said given the place of agriculture in national de­
velopment, especially as it remains the guarantee to food
security, job creation, raw materials production for industrial
growth and generation of foreign exchange for the country,
there was need to encourage the players in the sector to har­
ness its potentials.
“While we are not unaware of the enormity of the challenges
impeding the full realisation of the foregoing, NACCIMA is of
the view that the Federal Government should not rest on its
oars until we achieve the full realisation of the country’s
agricultural potentials.