Abuja, Jan. 25, 2024:) The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has secured a N1 billion funding agreement to support small businesses in Katsina State.
The Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said on Thursday in Abuja that the project would kick start this quarter with an initial injection of N250 million.
The director-general, who received Katsina State Governor, Dr Dikko Radda in Abuja, acknowledged their shared vision of driving national prosperity through SME growth.
Odii thanked Radda, who served as the director-general of the agency for six years before his emergence as governor, for his continued commitment to the agency’s mission.
He described small businesses as the bedrock of the country’s economy.
“The potential of SMEs in Nigeria to drive lasting growth and prosperity is undeniable. The evidence of their resilience and innovative brilliance is all around us.
“Government support remains crucial for their success, and this is our mission at SMEDAN.
” To create an enabling ecosystem for SMEs to thrive, offering ready access to finance, streamlined market entry, and regulatory support.”
On his part, Gov. Radda highlighted the importance of SMEs to national growth and their central role in President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda.
He explained the efforts of the state SME development agency and the necessity of collaboration with SMEDAN to harness the contributions of SMEs in job creation and economic revitalisation for the good of Katsina state.
Radda lauded Odii’s creative approach and successes within his first 100 days at the agency’s helm, urging staff members to extend their full support to him.
He said that part of the agreement with SMEDAN was the overhaul of the Industrial Development Centre (IDC) in Katsina.
“The goal is to transform the IDC into an impactful incubator, providing SMEs with discounted access to modern tools and essential infrastructure, including power, thereby enhancing local production quality and reducing operational costs,” Radda said.
Also speaking, Ayodele Olawande, the Minister of State for Youth, commended SMEDAN’s engagement of young people in creative production and income generation activities.
SMEDAN had signed similar agreement with Anambra and Enugu state governments.
Meanwhile, SMEDAN has inaugurated its flagship initiative, ‘One Local Government One Product’ (OLOP), designed to empower local cooperatives to stimulate production.
The SMEDAN boss said this would be done by supporting businesses to leverage the unique resource of each local government.
Some selected cooperatives in the agribusiness value chain were presented with funds during the unveiling of the programme, which was also meant to address Nigeria’s food inflation challenge and boost export.
