Acting President Yemi Osinbajo attended the launch of the MSMEs clinic held at the Eagles Square, Abuja on Thursday, July 20.
Accompanied by several governors and ministers, an excited Osinbajo was freely interacting with the entrepreneurs who displayed their products at the venue.
In his remarks at the event, Professor Osinbajo stated that the future of the Nigerian economy lies in the small and medium scale enterprises.
His words: “This has been a very exciting afternoon for me because I have seen the future of the economy of our country and that future lies in the small and medium scale enterprises, many of who are here today advertising their products.
“Just today, I have come across BIMKAF Palace who produces coconut oil, flour, ginger powder, carrot oil and so on, Cura Foods and Disposables, Euphrates Renewable Enterprises, Bob-ella Décor & Event Management, Nwamaka Ventures and several other MSMEs. The list is far too long to go on mentioning them.
“I want to say that all of the businesses we have seen here today, many of them are young men and women who believe in this country and who are using Nigerian products, Nigerian crafted machines in many cases, fabricated and who are producing incredible things with what they have.
“A lot of the capital they have is from several of the micro finance businesses that are working with them.
“I want to say that the future of our country is in small businesses, medium size businesses doing great things, and that is what we are seeing here today.”
The acting president however noted that it is not enough for the MSMEs to produce and manufacture, stressing that government must do its own part to support them.
He stated that government has a key role to play in creating an environment for businesses to prosper and for businesses to make good.
He admitted that small businesses have challenges with regulatory agencies and also source of funding to sustain them, but added that the federal government has already created an interface between the MSMEs and the regulatory bodies and also the MSMEs and banks that can assist them financially through the MSMEs clinics.
“We have done this in Aba, Ilorin, Sokoto, Jos, Kastina and in Calabar, and this in Abuja is the latest one. We are still going round the states and the different geo-political zones with the regulatory agencies and we are bringing about this interaction.
“I recently signed two Executive Orders which are closely related to improving the business environment for MSMEs. These Executive Orders are also important in the work we are trying to achieve,” he added.
He also reserved praise for the organisers of the event, the Abuja Enterprise Agency, and applauded them for funding many MSMEs.
Professor Osinbajo went to the MSMEs clinic straight from a meeting with state governors at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting came days after the federal government released the second tranche of the Paris Loan refund to state governments.
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