Kwara State Injects Over USD 2.9 Mn Into SMEs’ Capacity Development
Kwara State Commissioner for Commerce and Cooperatives, Julius Agboola, has disclosed that the state government has committed more than USD 2.9 Mn to strengthen the capacity of SMEs since inception, and is also committed to the direction with a yearly budget of USD 1.3 Mn.
While speaking at the third annual meeting of Kwara State Coalition of Business and Professional Association (KWACOBPA), Agboola representing Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed, disclosed that his ministry is in healthy relationships with federal agencies such as the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Federal Inland Revenue Service and others geared in the direction of ease of doing business.
Agboola said this is confirmed by the recent rating of Kwara State as the second best state in Nigeria in the area of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) development. He urged the association and private sector drivers to bring up suggestions that help in moving an directing the state’s economy to its desired end.
Suggesting, Chairman of KWACOBPA, H.O Adediji, said that the federal government could boost the economy by pursuing effective business policies that will promote development in the sector. He noted that poor policy implementation is one of the impediments to the economic growth of Nigeria. According to him, the economy is harsh, and most of the things seen are not what was bargained for.
Adediji expressed that some banks do not give loans frequently, which results in low cash flow. “It takes something very extraordinary for every businessperson to survive in the country,” he said. “What we clamor for is that the economy lies on the generality of Nigeria, and everyone should be part of it in order to move forward both economically and socially.”
In Adediji’s opinion, people in the ministry should not have complete charge over the implementation of business policies. “Government will come up with good policies, but the real truth of the matter comes to play in the implementation of those policies.”
“So when you are talking about the industry, the concerned people should be there. When you talk agriculture, the people in agriculture must be there; farmers need to be involved when their policies are being implemented”.
Adediji acknowledged that the support of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) in Washington DC even assures the coalition’s commitment towards continuous growth.
