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ILO tasks government on support for entrepreneurs

By Toyin Olasinde
15 September 2016   |   2:32 am
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has asked the Federal Government to device policies that will assist entrepreneurs turn the current economic recession into opportunities.
Dennis Zulu

Dennis Zulu

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has asked the Federal Government to device policies that will assist entrepreneurs turn the current economic recession into opportunities.

The global labour body said that an environment that promotes and sustain startup business would have a significant fraction of its economic problem solved.

Besides, ILO has urged govt, employers and workers to work together to address the challenges facing the country through well-articulated policies, strategies and programmes.

Speaking recently in Lagos, the Director, ILO country office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Dennis Zulu, said in the height of the current challenges it has become imperative to go back to the drawing board to redefine Nigeria’s investment climate.

Zulu observed that in Nigeria, unemployment, poverty and inequality remain critical obstacles to sustainable development and national stability.

He said: “More and better jobs are urgently needed to maintain social cohesion, achieve broad-based well-being and reduce poverty. And these need to be jobs of the future-productive and of good quality while preserving the natural environment on which future development depends.”

He noted that the potential of sustainable enterprise development is often not fully realized in most countries.

“Constraints to enterprise development include external factors relating to capacities and knowledge of entrepreneurs. Key internal obstacles to business operation and growth may include a lack of management skills, limited information and understanding of markets and finance, a lack of awareness about the value of business support services, the use of outdated technologies, or a neglect of responsible workplace practices resulting in low productivity. While it is important to address these internal constraints for businesses to grow, it is equally important to look at the external environment in which they operate. Enterprises, whether they are small or medium-sized, large multinationals or cooperatives, do not exist in vacuum. They operate within a political, social and economic context of markets and supply chains and are subject to regulatory and institutional constraints. Without addressing the issues related to the enabling environment, the progress which can be made through interventions at the enterprise level will be limited,” he explained.

Also speaking the President of Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Larry Ettah, said for the Federal Government to adequately tackle the current economic challenge, it must take decisive actions to approach the issues beyond rhetoric.

He hinted that Nigeria has officially entered into its worst recession in 29 years as gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 2.06 percent in the second quarter of 2016.

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