The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a solarised fashionhub and a Makerspace in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to drive innovation and equip young people with the skills needed for entrepreneurship and technological advancement.
Speaking at the unveiling on Friday in Abuja, the Director General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, said that the project is an initiative creating hubs of innovation , fostering MSME growth and promoting sustainable renewable energy solutions to empower entrepreneurs across the country.
Odii noted that some policies have made the cost of doing business very expensive, especially for small businesses. He added that SMEDAN is working to reduce that cost.
He said, “Right now small businesses can come in here, book a machine to work for free, they don’t bother about power, they don’t bother about buying the machine, they don’t bother about maintaining the machine, they can just come here and work. As soon as they produce the products, they can warehouse and distribute the product anywhere across 36 states and the FTC at a reduced price.”
Odii stated that the agency has negotiated an MOU with the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) and also with the God Is Good Logistics company to enable small businesses to distribute easily, and seamlessly, at 20% and 15% discounts.
He said, “So this is more money coming to our small businesses for them to increase their productivity, for them to do bigger businesses, for them to actually expand the work that they’re doing. One woman was able to hire 280 people to come and help to produce overalls for primary health care centers across Nigeria. So those are the kind of things that we want to see happen in Nigeria . Just in a matter of time we will cascade to the 36 states and the FCT. We have launched in Katsina, Oshogbo, in Osun state and now the FCT”.
Odii explained that the initiative is expected to drive down unemployment adding that a mini-grid system helps to provide 24-hour power to the facility.
He said, ” Approximately 700 people can be employed from this on a daily basis because one person is here doing the pattern and cutting, one person is assisting with the embroidery, another person is assisting with the zip making”.
READ ALSO:Customs, SMEDAN move to ease cross-border trade
Also speaking, the United Nations Development Programme UNDP’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Elsie Attafuah said that Nigeria has 40 million micro, small and medium scale enterprises adding that these enterprises are the backbone of the economy, producing for this country, contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and providing jobs.
She stated that the UNDP wants to facilitate their work to make sure that they thrive.
“We did the groundbreaking of a maker space. It means that somebody can go to an SME and begin to ideate, have a dream and begin to also find the equipment and the tools to be able to do that. SMEDAN has a space already for the garment industry, but it had been impacted because it couldn’t perform optimally because of lack of power. And so what we have provided today is a mini-grid to enable that.
“So by providing that energy, we are able to then support the thriving industry here. And I think the conversation here is also about partnership, partnership with the private sector, because we can’t do it alone, partnership with government, partnership with non-governmental organizations and so on and so forth. But I think the message here is about the fact that there are great opportunities for this country, particularly the creation of jobs, the creation of wealth, and we need to empower small and medium scale enterprises”.
Attafuah who observed that there are opportunities within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA ) said , “Nigeria can take advantage of that, and small and medium scale enterprise will be the backbone for the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement.
On his part, Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said that SMEs have the power to create jobs, promote the economic development agenda of this great country.
He noted that Nigeria, as the giant of Africa, will be powered by small and medium-scale enterprises adding that one of the challenges facing our entrepreneurs is not only financing, but also energy.
” We felt that energy is one of the ways to unlock the potential and I am glad that we’re able to provide this mini-grid system, lithium batteries, that is helping to provide 24-hour power to this wonderful group of people”.
