The Federal Government, through the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (SMEDAN), has pledged to tackle inefficiencies and barriers hindering productivity in the SME sector.
Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, made this commitment at the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in Washington D.C., USA.
Odii outlined SMEDAN’s goals: securing investments, expanding market opportunities, and bridging the gap between Nigerian and U.S. small businesses.
He emphasized leveraging AGOA’s opportunities to drive growth, industrialization, job creation, and improved production quality for Nigerian SMEs. SMEDAN is also raising awareness of export opportunities like AGOA among Nigerian small businesses, with targeted support for key sectors. The agency is collaborating with organizations like 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.