The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr Dikko Radda, says the newly approved Revised National Policy on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises’ (MSMEs) objectives on finance are to address the challenges of financial access to create, operate and expand viable MSMEs in Nigeria.
Mr Radda who said this during a media briefing of the newly Revised National Policy MSMEs in Abuja noted that the national policy which was approved in 2007 has the provision of a 4-year review.
He noted that the reviewed policy identified some key areas requiring conscious and sustained effort in their development.
According to him, “the Institutional, Legal and Regulatory Framework is another policy area that has the objectives of transforming the informal MSMEs to the formal sector and also ease the environment for doing business and meet regulatory standards.
“The skill development forms another key policy area that is intended to hype the skill-set of MSMEs both entrepreneurial, technical/vocational and educational terms.
“It is also aimed at creating a culture of skill-based entrepreneurs across the country,” Mr Radda noted.
The SMEDAN boss stated that there were some other key regional, national and global changes that underscored the review of the policy.
“Some of the changes include the macroeconomic policy thrust embedded in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy (2019-2021); The national Economic Growth and Recovery Program (ERGP 2017-2020) introduced to pull Nigeria out of recession; the enactment of the Finance Act 2020 with some explicit provision targeted at the MSMEs and the coming into effect of the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA,” he said.
Mr Radda also stated that that the reviewed policy is aimed at fostering the emergence of new enterprises, especially among women and youths:
“It is aimed at accelerating the expansion of existing MSMEs along the value chain and promoting smooth transition to large enterprises. It identifies and squarely addresses the challenges of the MSMEs, while also harnessing the ensuing opportunities in a Public Private Partnership fashion.”
He added that the policy has split the Micro Enterprises subsector into the Nano/ Homestead and the Micro Enterprises subgroups.
Amaka E. Nliam
