Over 37 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country are on target for business support services as the Federal Government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Procter & Gamble to build a SME Academy.
The MoU was signed in Abuja between the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, representing the Federal Government, and Procter & Gamble.
Aisha Abubakar, minister of state for Industry, Trade and Investment and the supervising Minister of Women Affairs, signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while Temitope Iluyemi, director of government relations, Africa, signed on behalf of Procter & Gamble.
Speaking at the ceremony, Abubakar said the Federal Government was committed to ensuring consistent business support services for SMES in the country.
”Today is important for SMES in the country. Procter & Gamble has been in Nigeria for about 20 years now and is giving back to the society where necessary in lending support to micro, small and medium enterprises in the country,” Abubakar said.
Giving further insight into the role of the government in the MoU, she noted that the Federal Government as part of its commitments is expected to make available relevant groups, partners to scale up programme support, sensitise as well as provide venue for other logistics for the training.
She clarified further that the government bears no cost in the setting up of the academy. The duration for the project is five years, she added.
Procter & Gamble, according to the MoU, is expected to facilitate human resource, alongside access to finance, in addition to mentorship in the SME academy.
Iluyemi, on her part, said the need to equip the SMES with the right skills and capacity to enable them standardise their operations and raise their competitiveness globally informed the company’s decision to go into this partnership with the government.
“Procter & Gamble has created in this process of support to SMES about 300 SMEs. And as an academy, we have to provide soft business skills, excellent book-keeping skills, and providing them with market access as well as possible areas to divest,” she said.
HARRISON EDEH, ABUJA
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