Get Guardian on GoogleThe Cross River State Micro Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA) has said more than 5,350 entrepreneurs and small business operators have benefited from government-backed enterprise development programmes, including training, grants and access to financial assistance.
The agency’s Director-General, Great Ogban, disclosed this during a Manufacturing and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Town Hall Meeting held on Sunday at the Dome, Calabar Municipality Garden, Calabar.
The meeting also featured the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, who outlined proposed industrial projects in the state and called for support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Ogban said the interventions were designed to reach businesses across Cross River’s three senatorial districts and improve access to training, financing and business formalisation.
“More than 5,350 Cross Riverians have benefited from various enterprise-development and empowerment interventions under the current administration,” he said.
According to him, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) trained 2,500 participants across the state, while another intervention reached 2,000 people.
He said 500 beneficiaries of the latter programme received grants of ₦500,000 each.
The reported grants to those 500 beneficiaries would amount to ₦250 million if each received the stated sum.
However, the agency did not provide a breakdown showing how the various programmes contributed to the overall figure of more than 5,350 beneficiaries or whether individuals participated in multiple interventions.
Ogban said the programmes combined financial assistance with skills development to help entrepreneurs manage and expand their businesses.
He maintained that beneficiaries were applying the support received to improve their operations.
“The outcome of the grant programme is encouraging, as beneficiaries are actively applying the skills and financial support received to expand their businesses,” he said.
The MEDA director-general also identified access to finance as a major component of the interventions.
According to him, businesses in Cross River had benefited from a ₦200 million MSME intervention, alongside access to single-digit interest loans and ₦50,000 grants facilitated through SMEDAN and the Bank of Industry (BOI).
Ogban did not disclose the number of businesses that accessed the loans, the applicable interest rates or the repayment conditions, but commended the Cross River State Government for providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to register their businesses without paying the usual registration costs.
He said Governor Bassey Otu’s administration had made 1,000 free Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) business registrations available to entrepreneurs.
According to him, the intervention was intended to reduce the financial and administrative difficulties associated with formalising small businesses.
Ogban said continued cooperation between the federal and state governments would be important for sustaining enterprise development programmes.
He also urged entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to support continuity in the implementation of economic policies.
Speaking at the meeting, Enoh described small businesses as central to economic activity in Nigeria and Cross River State.
He said MSMEs accounted for nearly 96 per cent of businesses in Nigeria, contributed about 40 per cent to Gross Domestic Product and generated approximately 87 per cent of employment.
“MSMEs are actually our economy. You all seated here are the economy of Cross River and the economy of Nigeria,” Enoh told participants.
“You need to be very proud of the contributions you continue to make to the economic growth and development of our state and our country.”
The minister also outlined industrial initiatives being considered for Cross River, including an electric bicycle assembly plant and an automotive-related development project.
According to him, an agreement had been reached with an economic development team concerning the proposed electric bicycle manufacturing facility.
He said discussions about a suitable location were ongoing with Governor Otu, ahead of a meeting scheduled for November 10.
The minister did not disclose the identities of the proposed investors, the estimated cost of the project, its expected production capacity or a timetable for construction.
Enoh also referred to the allocation of 75 acres of land in Calabar for an automotive-related project.
He said an automotive training centre was being developed by the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC).
The proposed facilities form part of the industrial initiatives highlighted during the town hall.
The minister additionally reported that more than 2,000 residents across the state’s 18 local government areas had benefited from federal grant programmes, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) mentorship and digital business development initiatives.
The town hall also included political discussions ahead of the 2027 general election.
Enoh presented a document prepared by the Manufacturing and MSME Directorate outlining what its authors described as achievements recorded under President Tinubu’s administration since May 2023.
The minister said the document was intended to support the argument for the president’s re-election.
“As a directorate, what we have done is to put together a document that captures and indicates a lot of the progress that has been made by Mr President,” he said.
“That document makes the case for the fact that re-electing Mr President is actually what this country is going to benefit from.”
