The Federal Government on Tuesday declared that it is working in collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure growth in Nigeria’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector.
To this end, the National Council on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, has set up a committee to interface with the Central Bank of Nigeria to enhance the financing of small businesses in the country.
This was part of decisions taken at the first meeting of the National Council on MSMEs for 2025 held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking after deliberations by members, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the federal government, through its agencies and partners, has the moral burden of supporting growth in the MSME space and facilitating job creation across different sectors for Nigerians.
Reeling out the mandate of the committee, Vice President Shettima said the administration’s efforts in supporting small businesses, evident in important policies and programmes, need to be complemented by stakeholders, especially the private sector.
The committee, headed by Sen. John Enoh, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, includes the Ministers of Science and Technology, Women Affairs, Agriculture and Food Security and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MSMEs.
Others include the CEOs of the Bank of Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Bank of Agriculture (BOI), Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), and the representative of NACCIMA and the organized private sector.
In the same vein, the Council also approved a loan scheme for MSMEs known as the syndicated de-risked loans for small businesses.
The scheme will be a partnership between state governments and financial institutions to enhance access to finance for MSMEs at single-digit rates across the country.
Vice President Shettima advised state governments to set up vehicles devoid of political interests to drive the implementation of the syndicated de-risked loans for the MSMEs scheme.
“Some of these initiatives are laudable and will need to outlive the present administrations in the States. Regardless of political affiliations, Nigerians must be seen as the ultimate beneficiaries of these schemes that we are trying to put in place,” the Vice President stated.
Earlier, Senior Special Assistant to the President on MSMEs, Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, presented the ‘syndicated de-risked loans’ scheme for small businesses, seeking the cooperation of members and describing it as a game-changing programme to provide affordable and available loans for businesses.
He said the initiative acknowledges the President’s passion and commitment to the development of small businesses and aims to provide more jobs for Nigerians.
In his presentation on the state of MSMEs in Nigeria, the DG SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said the agency proposed an initiative born from a 3-day MSME conference held in 2024.
He said the initiative known as the GROW Nigeria strategy is to provide guidance, resources, opportunities, and the workforce to support about 40 million small businesses across eight distinct sectors.
