Omodele Adigun
Former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has predicted that with the right support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Commonwealth countries could grow their total GDP to $18 trillion.
According to Obi, who stated this at the just concluded Commonwealth Business Forum in London, the Commonwealth nations should understudy the impressive economic record achieved by China, which grew its economy within 25 years from a GDP of less than $1trillion to about $12 trillion.
His words: “With the right policies and support to SMEs across the various Commonwealth countries, the total GDP of these countries could see a growth of up to $18 trillion by 2030, the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Such achievement would help the Commonwealth countries to create about 200 million jobs, which would be a third of the World Bank target of 600 million jobs within the said period, considering that the population of the Commonwealth countries is presently a third of the world population.
“It is not about reinventing the wheel, Commonwealth nations should understudy the impressive economic record achieved by China. China, which has the fastest sustainable economic expansion than any other major economic power in modern history, has grown its economy within a quarter of a century from a GDP of less than a trillion dollars to a GDP of about $12 trillion.
“China, with half of the 2.4 billion population of Commonwealth countries, achieved these impressive records with industrialisation and export as its back-bone. SMEs contribute 70 per cent of China’s export earnings and 60 per cent of its 800 million jobs.
“Our understanding of the challenges which SMEs face within the Commonwealth requires our grasping fully the challenges SMEs face within individual Commonwealth countries.