SMEDAN sets to partner banks on MSMEs development

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has expressed its willing to partner the banking sector towards the development of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sub-sector of the economy.

Bature Umar Masari, director-general of the agency, stated this while receiving the management of JAIZ Bank led by Muhammad Nurul Islam, its managing director/chief executive, in his office in Abuja.

Masari commended the bank’s policy of non-interest banking, noting that “non-interest banking stimulates the growth of MSMEs,” as MSMEs were critical to the economic development of any society as such the role of banking in actualising this for the nation cannot be overemphasised.

The director-general said the National Enterprises Development Programme (NEDEP) recently launched by President Goodluck Jonathan was aimed at generating 3.5 million to 5 million direct and indirect jobs before 2015.

According to him, the programme focuses on Skills Acquisition, Entrepreneurship Training and Business Development Service, BDS and access to finance, which SMEDAN and other two agencies Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Bank of Industry (BoI) are jointly implementing.

Masari added that the entrepreneurship training component of NEDEP was being executed under the One Local Government One Product (OLOP) platform.

He said the agency is also discussing with some banks on way of enhancing counterpart funding of its training programmes in 2014, adding SMEDAN was ready to collaborate and partner with SMEs friendly institutions as it was poised to leverage on the JAIZ bank non interest banking policy to empower MSMEs in the country.

Earlier, Nurul-Islam had noted the giant strides recorded by SMEDAN in the development of the MSMEs sub sector in the country.
The chief executive officer said JAIZ Bank has enough facility to assist MSMEs in Nigeria, saying “Our non interest banking facility to MSMEs would boost sustainable job and wealth creation”.

He assured SMEDAN of the banks credibility and restated that JAIZ bank is a veritable outfit for MSMEs in Nigeria to realise their potentials in business development and job creation thereby reducing poverty and dependency syndrome, and listed five major critical focus of the bank, as clothing, shelter, medical, food and employment.

HARRISON EDEH, Abuja