FG empowers 50 weavers, moves to stimulate rural enterprises

By Ibukun Emiola

No fewer than 50 cloth weavers have benefited from the Federal Government’s move to stimulate rural enterprises in order to address the challenges facing the nano sector.

Mr Olawale Fasanya, the Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), made this known at the opening of the Cluster Development Programme held in Iseyin Local Government area.

Fasanya, represented by Mrs Bimpe Fawale, the Deputy Director, Partnership and Coordination Department of SMEDAN, said the cluster initiative was organised to revitalise the economic growth at the rural level.

He said the programme was targeted at Iseyin Aso-Oke cluster in Oyo State with 50 beneficiaries.

Fasanya said: “Cluster initiative has rapidly attracted attention of many governments and industry organisations around the globe as a means to stimulate urban and rural economic growth.

“The purpose of cluster initiative organisations is to promote economic development within the cluster by improving the competitiveness of one or several specific business sectors.

“The initiatives are  projects that are organised as collaborations between diverse number of public and private sector actors.”

He said  that Nano, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (nMSMEs) sub-sector have historically played an important role in contributing to economic development of many countries around the world.

According to him, the sub-sector accounts for majority of enterprises in Nigeria and also accounts for the highest numbers of jobs created in Nigeria’s economy.

“The most recent National nMSMEs Survey of 2021 revealed that there are 39.6 million nMSMEs, employing 62.5 million people 80.2 per cent of labour force and contributing 46.31per cent and 6.21 per cent to nominal GDP and exports, respectively.

“However, the Nano Enterprises constitutes the highest percentage,” he said.

Fasanya said that in spite of the immense contributions, the sub-sector, especially the Nano Enterprises, were still plagued with many challenges.

According to him, the challenges include inadequate access to affordable funds, high cost of doing business, inflation, insecurity preventing farmers from visiting their farms, lack of management skills, lack of access to local, regional and global markets, lack of linkages to large enterprises, poor infrastructure and so on.

He said in the last survey jointly conducted by SMEDAN and the National Bureau of Statistics, more than two million nMSMEs closed shop between 2017 and 2021, releasing more than six million Nigerians into the unemployment market.

“In our determination to address these challenges confronting the nMSMEs in Nigeria, the agency came up with this intervention programme ‘Cluster Empowerment Initiative’ to reinvigorate the rural enterprises.

“This is to also mainstream them into the formal sector and to cushion the effects of the economic downturn on nMSMEs in Nigeria,” Fasanya said.

SMEDAN said that the programme was designed to provide an end-to-end business development service to the rural entrepreneurs and business owners, who are at the bottom of the pyramid.

He said it was as a supportive mechanism to enhance rural entrepreneurship, enterprise output, competitiveness, jobs creation and financial inclusion.

“The intervention programme has three components, which are sensitisation, capacity building and empowerment to further support nMSMEs in Nigeria.

“The agency has equally designed and is implementing other intervention programmes,” Fasanya said.

In his remarks, Mr Mufutau Abilawon, the Chairman, Iseyin Local Government area,   commended the Federal Government and SMEDAN for implementing the programme.

“We are happy for the empowerment given to Aso- Oke weavers and we want more of it.

“The association of Aso-oke Weavers also are doing a lot to export Aso-oke to the world, but more supports are required,” Abilawon said.

(NAN)