Stakeholders Brainstorm on Implementation of MSMEs Policy in Edo

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Stakeholders in the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) sub sector, met during the weekend to chart a path for the implementation of the national MSMEs’ policy in Edo State.

The event was organised by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), in collaboration with the Edo State Ministry of Business, Trade and Cooperatives (ESMBTC) and the Edo State Skills Development Agency (ESSDA) and supported by SEDIN, a programme under the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The one-day event, which was held in Benin City, was tagged: “Stalkhokders Dialogue on MSMEs Development and the Implementation of the National Policy on MSMEs in Edo.”

Speaking during the event, the Deputy Director of Policy, SMEDAN, Mr. Onesi Lawani, said the meeting was to create awareness and ownership of the national MSME policy in Edo.

Lawani said the implementation of the national policy was to facilitate as well as sustain a vibrant MSMEs sub sector that would be the major driver of the nation’s economic growth.

Also speaking, the Head of Programme, Pro-poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria (SEDIN), Mr. Markus Wauschkuhn, said that addressing issues facing MSMEs in Nigeria was the surest way to bridge the unemployment gap in the country.

Wauschkuhn said the essence of the dialogue was to strengthen coordination of activities done by the federal and states MDAs as well as donor organisations, geared toward the development of MSMEs in the country.

Wauschkuhn, who was represented by Head of Policy, SEDIN, Akinropo Omoware, said that “we believe that the forum will provide opportunity for stakeholders in the MSMEs eco-system in the state to interact on the key challenges, foster common understanding and proffer some solutions.”

In his goodwill message, Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, said that one could not underscore the fact that the MSMEs are the engine of any economy by being the largest employers of labour.

Obaseki, who was represented by the Commissioner for Business, Trade and Cooperative, Afishetu Braimoh, said: “We have struck strategic collaboration with local and international partners to ensure the promotion of the private sector in the state.”

Earlier, the Director-General of the Benin Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Mr. John Imalingmhe, commended SEDIN’s support to MSMEs in the state.