BOMA DIPRIYE
ABUJA, Nigeria – In a bid to complement the Federal Government’s efforts to improve the economy and create more jobs, a group of partners in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) space are set to execute various MSME-focused interventions, targeting 1.3 million beneficiaries across 17 states and the FCT.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Director Information, Office of the Vice President, Olusola Abiola.
The MSME and Job Creation Unit of the Vice President’s Office, which is coordinating the interventions disclosed that the interventions are geared towards ensuring the realisation of the Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to job creation and economic diversification with the MSMEs playing critical roles.
According to the statement, the interventions which are to be completed in 17 states and the FCT are Shared Centres for MSMEs providing four markets with 300kva Solar Panels and Mini grids to provide eight hours of electricity a day to 6 fashion hubs and two furniture clusters.
Other interventions are for car painting/ drying hubs and cold rooms for sea food storage, among others.
“Following Vice President Kashim Shettima’s directives on the speedy execution of the projects, five of the interventions will be completed and delivered by December 2023.
“12 other interventions are scheduled for completion before December 2024.”
The States to benefit from the interventions include Abia, Rivers, Jigawa, Benue, Borno, Lagos, Ekiti, Niger, Sokoto, Enugu, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Yobe, Ondo, Osun, Bayelsa, Imo and FCT.
MSME partners collaborating with the Office of the Vice President to execute these interventions include Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), among others.
