The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), in collaboration with the Gombe State government, has begun a three-day training on financial empowerment for rural enterprises in the state.

During the opening ceremony of the training, director-general and chief executive of SMEDAN, Charles Odili, said the programme was designed to provide an end-to-end business development service to rural entrepreneurs.

Mr Odili said the training was also targeted at business owners at the bottom of the pyramids as a supportive mechanism to enhance rural entrepreneurship, competitiveness, job creation and financial inclusion.

“As you may be aware, the Nano, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (nMaSMEs) sub-sector has played an important role in contributing to the economic development of many countries around the world.

“The sub-sector accounts for the majority of the enterprises in Nigeria and also accounts for the highest number of jobs created in Nigeria’s economy.

“The most recent National nMSMEs survey of 2021 revealed that there were 39.6 million nMSMEs, employing 62.5 million persons which account for 80.2 per cent of the labour force, contributing to 46.31 per cent and 6.21 per cent to national GDP and exports, respectively.”

Represented by Prof. Adeyinka Fusha, acting director of partnership and coordination, SMEDAN, said the training had three components, namely sensitisation, capacity building and empowerment grant.

Declaring the training open, Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State said the programme was timely following the economic hardship in the country.

The programme would contribute to the economic development of the state and the country at large, he said.

Represented by Abdulkadir Adamu, permanent secretary, general duties, office of the secretary to the state government, the governor appreciated SMEDAN and reiterated the government’s commitment to work with the agency for more opportunities for rural businesses.

He said the state government had organised an investment summit that attracted many investors into the state.

“This may not be unconnected with the business-friendly environment of the state,” he said.

Nasiru Mohammed, commissioner for trade, industry and tourism, said the training would enable the rural enterprise to acquire the needed business techniques and empower them with knowledge and skills.

He said Mr Yahaya had empowered more than 2,000 small and medium enterprises in the state and also established 1000 hectares of land industrial park to serve as an export processing zone.

He said, “This is a platform that will attract domestic and foreign investors to come and invest.”

He commended SMEDAN for organising the training and also encouraged the participant to be attentive and learn the techniques that will improve their businesses. 

(NAN)