Amb. Mariam Katagum, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, has said that the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) clinics under the present administration have strengthened one-stop shop for business operators in the country.
This is contained in a news release issued on Friday by Mrs Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, Assistant Director of Information in the ministry.
According to the release, Katagum stated this at the 25th edition of the National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic in Asaba.
She said that the experiences gathered from MSME clinics were useful toward strengthening and deepening the one-stop shop for MSMEs.
According to Katagum, some of the lessons learnt from previous MSME clinics include the need for agencies to reduce registration fees and process timelines.
She gave some of the agencies as Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
The Minister pointed out that the clinic aimed at creating a platform where challenges affecting MSMEs were identified and solutions proffered by a team of experts from agencies statutorily saddled with the development of the sector.
“The MSMEs clinic is part of the present administration’s initiatives to support the MSMEs sector in Nigeria.
“This in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President has substantially progressed towards creating the much needed awareness and support for the sector,’’ Katagum said.
She noted that MSMEs is a key component in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP).
According to her, both are prioritising government’s business support initiatives that provide diagnostic and business improvement advice to pre-starts, start-ups, and other existing businesses to help them grow.
She said: “over the next two days, business operators in the MSMEs space will be engaged by regulators and business advisory experts ranging from entrepreneurship, skill development, finance quality and standards on how to grow their businesses.
“Apart from access to expert advice and cost-effective real time solutions to enterprise challenges, this clinic is quite distinctive from the norm as it aims at institutionalising a culture of responsive and supportive services to MSMEs, resulting in improved ease of doing business.”
The Minister expressed optimism that the outcome of the event would also provide information which would assist government in deepening the MSMEs policy framework.
Katagum lauded the Federal Government for the commitment toward energising the MSMEs in Nigeria to the path of inclusive growth and sustainable development.
She further said that the MSMEs clinic would provide a single point of access to improve long-term potential for inclusive growth for businesses with special focus on the youth and women as economic actors of change. (NAN)