FATE Foundation to discuss growth of SMEs in face of economic headwinds

FATE Foundation, Nigeria’s foremost entrepreneurship and  enterprise development organisation, is set to hold its inaugural annual policy dialogue series on entrepreneurship on December 3, in     Lagos.

The theme of this event is, ‘Positioning SMEs for Growth: How to ensure Nigerian SMEs Thrive Despite Economic Headwinds.’

The policy dialogue series will bring together stakeholders in the Nigerian  SME space and high-level business experts   from within and outside   Nigeria  to discuss   factors    and policies   that impact   the SME sector in Nigeria,  with a view to proffering implementable solutions.

The panel discussants are Sarah Alade,     deputy governor,  Economic Policy Directorate,  Central Bank  of Nigeria; Bimbola Ashiru, commissioner for commerce and industry, Ogun State; Rasheed Olaoluwa, managing director/CEO, Bank of Industry (BoI), and Bature Masari, director-general, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN).

Toyin Bakare, CEO, SAS Textiles, and Henrietta Onwuegbuzie, academic director, Owner-Manager, Lagos Business School will moderate the panel.

As a background to the policy discussions, FATE will also be releasing a  report  which it commissioned  to Agusto   &     Co   reviewing       the Nigerian  MSME    policy environment.  The report, which will  be published on the  FATE  website (www.fatefoundation.com) on  the  3rd  of December looks  at  the  key  policies and programmes currently in place to    support MSMEs   in  Nigeria; highlights  key  learnings from other   countries  with        working  models   to improve    the  business       environment,        and offers      recommendations       on   the        policy      review    fundamentals       required to   review    the        business environment in     Nigeria.