Kogi Set to Create 500,000 Business Outfits

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

Kogi State Government has restated its commitment to create over 500,000 new businesses in the state before the expiration of the present administration in 2024.

The state Governor, Yahaya Bello, made this known while speaking yesterday in Lokoja to commemorate the maiden edition of International Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Day.

The theme of this year MSME Day is: ‘A Strategic Tool for Economic Development’, as the governor said this would be achieved through stimulation of micro economies via innovativeness.

He explained that MSME accounts for 90 per cent of businesses, 60 to 70 per cent of employment and 50 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) worldwide.

Bello added that the MSME growth is a strategic tool for economic development, stressing that MSME contributes to both local and national economy.

The governor noted that MSME is to help sustain livelihood, especially for the poor, women, youths, and other vulnerable people in the society.

According to him, Kogi State   Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA) was created to coordinate their immediate and long term needs, stressing that the state needed an outlet to engage and empower teeming youth population.

The governor maintained that MSME remains the major drivers for economic growth, especially a non-industrialised and developing society.

He said: “I made it one of my pre-occupation to create an agency through which we could encourage entrepreneurship and ultimately build a strong MSME in our state.”

Earlier in her remarks, the Managing Director/CEO, Kogi State Enterprise Development Agency (KEDA), Hajia Rekiya Onaivo Sanni, said MSMEs have contributed enormously to job creation, income generation, trade and inclusive growth.

She noted that despite efforts to stimulate the business environment, a lot still needs to be done to make MSMEs reach their full potential.