‘How conformity to standards will improve SMEs’ capacity for global trade’

SON moves to promote quality culture among consumers

With trust being a major pivot for which repeat purchases are made, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has affirmed the agency’s support for small businesses in becoming globally competitive as well as in building their capacity for global trade.

According to the agency, conforming to an international standard is imbued with a trusted symbol of quality, safety or compatibility.

Noting that the agency over the years has developed competencies in various international management system standards to make MSMEs competitive and attractive in the global market, the Director General, SON, Aboloma Osita, said the standards body has developed standards in quality, environmental, food safety management among others, aimed at national capacity development and certification of systems for continual improvement.

Osita during a courtesy visit to the industrial cluster under the National Incubation Centre to mark the 2016 world standards day celebration in Lagos, pointed out that the agency’s visit was in furtherance of its commitment to promote standardization among MSMEs nationwide, maintaining that effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders would be deployed to achieve this feat.
“The theme “Standards brings trust” is apt, because when you adhere to standards, your products will be trusted and your businesses will grow. We have come here to identify with this up and coming entrepreneurs so as to catch them young and for them to also grow with the culture of standardisation and quality assurance so that people will trust and patronise them,” he said.

“In doing this, we also need to check against unfair competition with unscrupulous people that produces substandard goods. We are also here to protect them in this our effort in diversification from single product. We will go to any length to prevent substandard goods from coming in, because we want to make doing business in Nigeria easy as long as you are doing the right thing”, he added.

He called on all stakeholders in standardisation to partner SON to promote the quality culture in the country, saying that this can be achieved through voluntary implementation of national and international standards in its bid to improve lives through standards.