The Federal Government has announced it will concentrate more on agricultural startups and women-led businesses ahead of the worldwide commemoration of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Day.
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) Director General, Olawale Fasanya, noted that agriculture was the current focus of the federal government in accordance with its economic diversification policy while speaking in Abuja ahead of the event, which is observed annually on June 27.
He said, “As the world marks the 2022 MSME Day, we remain unyielding in strengthening MSMEs and startups, particularly in agriculture, agro-based industries, as well as youth and women-led enterprises.
“This is part of efforts to ensure that Nigeria is converted from a consuming nation to a producing nation through the activities of the subsector.”
Fasanya continued by saying that the agency had established a matching fund, which was now operating alongside Jaiz Bank, to ensure that money were available to the firms.
He continued by saying that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had increased the operational capital requirement for tier one microfinance banks from N50 million to N200 million, which had delayed the launch of the SMEDAN microfinance bank.
