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DAILY TRUST, Wednesday, April 5, 2017
BUSINESS 19
SMEs >>
‘Technology, innovation key to MSMEs growth’
By Victoria Onehi
Technology and innovation
are key to the sustenance
and growth of Micro
Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs) in Nigeria, a business
development consultant, Mr
Ahmed Yusuf, has said.
Yusuf stated this as guest
speaker at the Business 360
seminar organised by the Abuja
Enterprise Agency.
From Emma Elekwa, Awka
From Maryam Ahmadu-Suka, Kaduna
“A strategic clearing house
must be set up on a Public Private
Partnership (PPP) arrangement
to incubate and promote local
technology and innovations,”
Yusuf said.
He also stated that a
new tax code favourable to
MSMEs should be developed
taking cognisance of their
economic multipliers, noting
that the present tax drive is
counterproductive on MSMEs.
Anambra provides N2bn loan to SMEs
Anambra State government
has provided a total of N2
billion to small business
enterprises as loan in the past
two years.
The Commissioner
for Information, Tony
Nnacheta, who disclosed
this to newsmen during a
tour of some facilities in
the state, said the loan was
made possible through the
Anambra State Small Business
Agency (ASBA).
He said the agency was
working in collaboration with
various cooperative societies
Young investors have been advised to take advantage
of the Federal Government’s initiative on Information
Communication Technology (ICT) known as Start
Up Friday to showcase their talents and realise their
dreams.
The Director General, National Information
Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Isa Ali
Pantami, gave the advice at the opening ceremony of
the programme in Kaduna.
He said the aim of the programme was to discover
innovators and to see how the agency could support
and motivate the youth to be self-employed and
employers of labour.
The National Coordinator, Office for ICT Innovation
and Entrepreneurship, Olayinka Adejube, said the
programme was to get people know that knowledge
was wealth.
In his massage, the Managing Director, Sir Ahmadu
Bello Memorial Foundation, Dr. Ali Shetima,
commended the organisers and charged Nigerian
youth to be ready to take up the mantle of leadership.
By Daniel Adugbo
in the area of trade, artisans
and farmers at reduced
interest rates.
“ASBA gives loan at nine per
cent, the lowest you can get
and over N2 billion has been
provided for them since this
agency came on board two
years ago,” Nnacheta said.
Also speaking, the
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Agriculture, Mr
Leo Imoka, said the
state had set up an
electronic directory of
all farmers in the state
for easy distribution
of inputs and effective
output management.
‘Start-Up Friday’ kicks off in Kaduna
Denk Spaces launched to
help young start-ups
A new initiative, Denk Spaces, that will provide work
space for young start-ups and existing businesses as
well as mentorship has been launched in Abuja.
Speaking at the launch, the founder, Mr. Ekemelu
Nnoli, said Denk Spaces was an entrepreneurial
development hub that provided start-ups and
established businesses with comfortable, productive
and affordable office spaces with convenient
payment terms.
The initiative was launched with an art exhibition
and commissioned by the German Ambassador
to Nigeria, Dr. Bernhard Schlagheck,with other
interested Nigerians in attendance.
“This country is so rich in agriculture and resources
but its greatest asset is its people, particularly the
young people and Denk Spaces represents a perfect
mélange of art and entrepreneurship which enhances
clear and free thinking” Schlagheck said.
Nnoli said Denk Spaces also ran an incubation and
mentorship programme all year round that ensured a
high success rate for all co-habitants.
By Chris Agabi
The Managing Director/CEO
of Abuja Enterprise Agency,
Malam Arabi Muhammad
Tukur, said despite the fact that
the SME sector holds 96% of
the business sector in Nigeria,
compared to 53% in the USA
and 65% in Europe, with a 17
million SMEs holding capacity,
employing about 32.41 million
people, it only contributes 47%
to the GDP of Nigeria and less
than 5% of exports. Compared to
The newly established
Development Bank of Nigeria
(DBN) should support exportoriented
Micro, Small and
Medium Scale Enterprises
(MSMEs) to boost foreign
exchange earning for Nigeria.
The MD/CEO of Fortis
Microfinance Bank, Mr. Tiko
Okoye, gave the advice in an
the nations on the same status in
Asia, Nigeria is lagging behind.
A participant, Dr Jay Ifeanyi
Ugu, said the forum afforded him
an opportunity to talk to policy
makers about their challenges.
The representatives of
NAFDAC, SON, FIRS and
National Export Promotion
Council (NEPC) were at hand
to answer questions and
proffer solutions to some of the
challenges of MSMEs.
interview with newsmen in
Abuja.
He said there were a lot of export
-oriented SMEs in the country
that need to be supported.
Okoye, while welcoming
the DBN initiative, also prayed
DBN to de-risk the MSMEs and
guarantee loans to SMEs so that
microfinance banks can have
confidence to lend to them.
“DBN should try to collaborate
• Ahmed Yusuf, Guest
speaker at the Business
360 forum by AEA.
Devt Bank should support export-oriented MSMEs – Fortis MFB CEO
with SMEDAN to de-risk that
subsector. The sector is highly
risky and one way to de-risk the
sector is to create an SME credit
guarantee scheme,” he said.
“The formation of the bank
and its core mandate to focus
on MSMEs is a welcome
development but we will look at
the details of the mandate to be
sure it will live to the mandate,”
Okoye said.