Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (“MSME”) are a significant part of our economy, if not the most important one. It currently accounts for 96 percent of Nigerian firms and 75 percent of the country’s employment. Over 17 million of Nigeria’s 17.2 million MSMEs are micro-enterprises. As a result, growth in this sector is inextricably linked to overall economic growth and employment levels in Nigeria.
There is little doubt that a well-developed and well-structured MSMEs sector in Nigeria can considerably contribute to job creation, wealth creation, poverty reduction, and long-term economic growth and development. However, a variety of obstacles are impeding MSMEs’ potential in Nigeria. Among the most pressing issues are:
- Very low access to affordable finance.
- Poor access to Business Development Service (BDS), and
- Inadequate infrastructure/high cost of doing business.
For example, according to a recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)/SMEDAN survey of MSMEs, money is the top priority of help sought by MSMEs’ operators. Furthermore, just 4.2 percent of 17.2 million MSMEs have been able to obtain loans or overdrafts from financial institutions, making it nearly hard for new entrants or start-ups to obtain financing from banks.
The Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, CON, launched the “NATIONAL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (NEDEP)” to solve these difficulties. The initiative focuses on Skills Acquisition, Entrepreneurship Training/Business Development Service (BDS), and Access to Finance, with the goal of creating an estimated 5.0 million direct and indirect jobs between 2013 and 2015.
The OLOP platform is being used to implement the entrepreneurship training/business development service component, while the Bank of Industry (BOI) is handling the access to finance component and the Industrial Training Fund is handling the skills acquisition component (ITF).
The NEDEP is led by empirical research based on experiences of successful similar enterprise development programs in Africa and Asia, as well as the OLOP pilot projects in Kano and Niger States, and is coordinated by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (“SMEDAN”).
NEDEP’s Advantages and Possibilities
Between 2013 and 2015, it is expected to generate 5.0 million direct and indirect jobs.
It will stimulate the rural economy, increase job opportunities, generate wealth, and reduce poverty in Nigeria’s rural communities. This would be accomplished by establishing sustainable MSMEs based on comparative and competitive advantages in the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Establishment of an entrepreneurial culture, rural industrialisation, improved industrial cluster growth, higher MSMEs’ contribution to GDP, greater export potentials, and so on.
Elimination of youth restlessness, militancy, and other social vices (e.g., kidnapping, extreme insurgencies such as Boko Haram, prostitution, armed robbery, drug addiction, thuggery, and so on).
Nigeria’s social security system is becoming more entrenched.
Attributes Of NEDEP
- Delivery by 3 Agencies (SMEDAN, ITF, BOI)
- Formation and registration of Cooperative Societies
- National and State Council on MSMEs
- Restructuring of implementing Agencies (SMEDAN, BOI, ITF)
- Implementation of the One Local Government One Product (OLOP) programme.
- Development of One Product for Export in each State
- Upgrading of Industrial Development Centres (IDCs) to MSMEs Clusters
- Provision of Common Facilities & Services
- Continuous Engagement, Monitoring & Reporting System
Implementation Strategies
- Sensitization and needs assessment
- Selection of products
- Baseline surveys and value chain analysis
- Formation and registration of cooperative societies
- Development of business plans by cooperative societies
- Assessment of business plans and provision of finance
- Access to markets
- Access to equipment/machines
- Entrepreneurship training
- Vocational skills training
- Delivery of Business Development Service (BDS)
- Monitoring and evaluation (impact assessment)
Current Activity
- Formation and registration of cooperative societies
- Collection of business plans from cooperative societies across the country.
How To Apply For NEDEP Loan
For more information, please Click Here. Please click to Download the Guideline and criteria for accessing NEDEP Loan.
Cooperative Questionnaire-checklist (Repaired) Guidelines & Criteria
Stand-alone Questionnaire-checklist Guideline & Criteria
This information was first published on nyscinfo.com. DMCA PROTECTED.
Source: Nyscinfo
Interesting, but think it will not die on a half way just like the way the film fund that was mapped out by the last administration, after we committed our time energy and money in pursuit of it we never know how everything ended, in fact I was highly disappointed and discouraged at the end, because everything I worked for died at the end