The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has assured more support for the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state with support for setting up of industrial clusters provided with steady power supply for MSMEs to thrive and compete with their counterparts across the country.
The governor gave the assurance in a goodwill message at the Stakeholders Dialogue on MSME Development and Implementation of the National MSME Policy in Edo State.
The event was organized by the Small Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in collaboration with the Edo State Ministry of Business, Trade and Cooperatives, Edo State Skills Development Agency (EdoJobs) with support from Pro-poor Growth and Promotion of Empowerment in Nigeria-SEDIN Programme, at the Government House in Benin City.
Obaseki, who was represented by the Commissioner of Trade, Business, and Cooperatives, Afishetu Braimoh, said the state government will increase the opportunities available to MSMEs to thrive in the state.
He said the state Ministry of Business, Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives and the Edo State Skills Development Agency have worked together to propagate the development of MSMEs, providing youths with opportunities for skills acquisition and self-employment and facilitating the growth of enterprises across different sectors of the state’s economy.
According to him, MSMEs are the engine of a thriving economy as they remain the largest employers of labour and serve as the fulcrum for the service and productive sectors, adding that the state government has designed programmes and initiatives that will ensure that MSMEs flourish in the state.
Obaseki noted that the state government has actively facilitated the disbursement of credit facilities to MSMEs across key focus areas in the state to ensure the sustenance of businesses and urged the participating MSMEs to take advantage of the opportunity to showcase their products, services, innovations and leverage the platform provided to market themselves with the objective of expanding their businesses.
