By Emmanuel Elebeke

President Bola Tinubu says the Small and Medium Enterprises are the backbone of the economy, accounting for 90% of all businesses in the country and contributing nearly half of the Gross Domestic Products, GDP.

He said the SMEs also remain the only lifeblood of the communities and the engines of rural industrialization, poverty alleviation, and sustainable development, providing employment to over 60 million Nigerians, many of whom are young people.

President Tinubu made the declaration on Wednesday in his address at the opening of the 2024 National SMME conference organized by SMEDAN in Abuja, themed: “GROW Nigerian: Sustaining a Digital and Innovation-Driven Economy.”

He said Nigerian economy has been an underperforming because the nation had for too long been unable to stir the great potentials inherent in the possession of huge population and natural and human resources of hardworking citizens.

‘’For too long, Nigeria has been an underperforming economy, unable to stir the great potentials inherent in the possession of such a large population of hardworking citizens.

‘‘Nigerians are not lazy, no. For too long, the problem has been lack of work. This problem of lack of work persisted because the population expanded and the service providers did not expand proportionately.

‘‘The steps we take now ought to have been taken long ago. People ought to have been incentivized a long time ago to establish small and medium enterprises, not jump ship and travel abroad.

‘‘Many of our citizens in diaspora have interests in coming back home to set up shop and do business in Nigeria, and they wonder; “is it wise for me to do this?” Let me announce to you, the time is now. It is a good investment to do this, Nigeria is stabilizing.’’

‘’Among other reasons, Nigerians experience hunger because we have not fully localised production processes and reduced costs effectively. I also realise the importance of innovation and digitalization to this purpose.

‘‘There is no justice in creating an economy that is not sustainable for the coming generations. Our constitution frowns upon it, I frown upon it, and morality frowns upon it. As a country, we are still suffering the effects of trying to shift from a crude-based economy which has left us debt-ridden.

‘‘Thus, it needs no gainsaying that we need to move the production and wealth-generating power of the economy to the people. It is in doing this that we can ensure equal distribution of resources and tap into the industrial potential of Nigeria as a people who are in tune with the natural resources and human resources that God in His infinite mercies have blessed us with.’’

On the conference, the President said the conference is a testament to the progress w so far made by his administration and the potential that lies ahead of it and a platform for dialogue, collaboration, and action.

‘‘I campaigned to move the Nigerian economy from the unsustainable model of exporting raw materials and importing the processed goods; I remain committed to that purpose and to reducing the costs of production so that Nigerians can enjoy a better quality of life.

‘‘I do not believe our natural resources are a curse; we have to manage them better and be more innovative in modeling our economy, something which my administration is committed to doing, and which I am happy the Mr Odii is fully engaged in. This is why I approved schemes such as the flag-off of the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS), the launch of the National Council on MSMEs and the expanded National MSME Clinics.

‘‘I have also supported reform efforts by Mr Odii to reform and organize the agency for greater efficiency and impact through dedicated units and special initiatives such as the counterpart funding arrangement through which the agency has now mobilized over 9 billion naira in affordable finance to the sector. All these ideas and lofty achievements do not emerge out of a vacuum, but from dialogues with critical stakeholders such as yourself.

‘‘We must get it right in this sector of the economy. We must ensure that all MDAs of the Federal Government, as well as state stakeholders, are better aligned and their efforts harmonized. I see a great advantage for us in taking a bottom-up approach in Nigerian production. If we can accomplish this at this level, we will maximise profits for the MSMEs and reduce scarcity for the consumers,’’ he said.

He therefore, charged participants at the conference to commit to creating an environment where our entrepreneurs can innovate, grow, and lead the way in building a prosperous future for all Nigerians. our SME sector. You have nothing to fear; your investments are safe, and our SMEs are a sure bet for growth.

In his remarks, the Speaker of the Federal House of Assembly, Tajudeen Abbass lauded SMEDAN for its innovative initiatives in growing the SMEs sector in Nigeria and pledged his unwavering support to the sector.

‘’We are dedicated to creating enabling environment for where SMEs can flourish , Nigeria stands ready for investment, there is nothing to fear, we are eager to engage with investors.’’

In her opening speech, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite said Nigeria SMEs must take advantage of the opportunity provided by digital technology to grow their businesses and spur economic growth for the nation.

She said with over 40 million SMES in the formal sector of the economy, SMEs remain key to achieving the $1 trillion economy target of President Tinubu.

She said over N200 billion has been earmarked to revitalise the sector, N50billion of which is grant and N100 billion for low interest loan to be disbursed to SMEs.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Director General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii said SMEDAN said the essence of the conference is to democratize access to finance, market, infrastructure and other enabling factors that can spur SME growth in the country.

Beyond limited access to capital, Odii said SMEDAN under his leadership has found that access to capacity development remains a huge barrier to SMEs growth in Nigeria.

‘‘We are now democratizing access to every SMEs in all 774 LGAs, wards and polling Units with the support of EU and German government. WE have initiatives to reach out to cooperatives with a grant of N50 billion for SMEs. SMEDAN is currently collating all the supports from local and foreign partners into one repository for SMEs unlike what we used to have in the past.’’

High point of the conference was formal launch of SMEDAN MSME grading System and exhibition tour and presentation of awards to deserving states and individuals for their support to SMEs growth in Nigeria.