The Nigerian Federal Government, through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, SMEDAN, has vowed to eliminate inefficiencies and barriers that hinder productivity in Nigeria’s SME sector.
The Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, disclosed this recently at the African Growth and Opportunity Act in Washington D.C, USA.
He explained that the Nigerian government is working to secure investments and expand market opportunities for SMEs.
According to him, the goal of the agency was to bridge the gap between Nigerian and U.S. small businesses, ensuring that AGOA’s opportunities are fully leveraged to foster growth, industrialization, job creation, and improved production quality for Nigerian SMEs.
Odii also highlighted SMEDAN’s initiatives to increase awareness of export opportunities such as AGOA among Nigerian small businesses, with targeted support for key sectors like textiles and agriculture. He explained that the agency is collaborating with organizations such as NAFDAC, SON, and NEPC to ensure compliance with safety and regulatory standards and streamline the export process.
“We are diligently working to eliminate inefficiencies and barriers that hinder productivity in Nigeria’s SME sector,” Odii stated.
“As the Secretary of the National Council on SMEs, chaired by the Vice President and led at the state level by all state governors, we are collaborating with other government agencies involved in taxation, health and safety regulations, land access, and financing to create a conducive environment for growth.”
This comes as the government commenced the disbursement of N75 billion grants in the Presidential Palliative Program to SMEs.
Odii noted efforts to secure counterpart funding agreements with both private and public organizations to increase affordable financing for small businesses.
