SMEDAN DG blames unemployment on fate of MSMEs

Acting Director General of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) Mr. Olawale Fasanya, has said the reduction in the number of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has adversely affected employment, affected Nigerian families and the economy of the nation. 

He also stressed the importance of MSMEs, noting that it remains the engine room for critical economic growth and poverty reduction in the country. 

He disclosed this in his welcome address during the 2022 management retreat for the agency held in Uyo, yesterday. 

With the theme, “Bridging Organisational Gaps for MSMEs Development”, he said the retreat would look at the challenges facing the agency and strategise on ways to reposition the SMEDAN towards effective service delivery to MSMEs sub-sector in the country.

On the state of MSMEs, the acting director general said that based on recent national survey, there had been reduction from 41 million to 39 million MSMEs in the country, saying the retreat was an opportunity to address internal and external obstacles that hindered the development of the most important sector of the economy. 

He said: “The idea of bringing us together outside the confines of the office is to be able to cross-fertilise ideas and harvest robust suggestions, which will impact positively on our agency.”