The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has graduated 520 entrepreneurs in Cross River under the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP).
The Director General of SMEDAN, Dikko Radda, made this known at the graduating ceremony of the entrepreneurs in Calabar on Friday.
He said that the programme was in partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Bank of Industry (BoI).
Radda, represented by Robert Owoyaiye, Director Monitoring and Evaluation, said that the three months training was in furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to diversify the economy.
He explained that the training programme cut across 19 states of the Federation and in 57 centres, adding that over 10,000 micro-entrepreneurs were expected to be trained in three vocational skill areas.
According to him, this will no doubt add a lot of value to the MSME subsector and increase the pool of entrepreneurs needed to build the economy and reduce unemployment.
“It is expected that the training in the other 17 states and the FCT will build on the successes and lessons leant from this present exercise,’’ Radda said.
He said the agency would soon commence “open air business clinics’’ where all regulatory agencies would be present to diagnose and solve most of the problems confronting would-be and existing entrepreneurs.
In his remarks, Joseph Ari, Director General of ITF said that the NISDP was aimed at actualising the diversification agenda of the Federal Government.
“The National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) seeks to precipitate in rapid industrialisation and stimulate inclusive economic growth by empowering the youth to be gainfully employed.
“This can be achieved through the provision of training in technical vocational skill in various trades, business development services and business financing. ‘’
He urged Nigerians to support the Federal Government in its efforts to diversify the economy and reduce over dependence on oil.
Idiongesit Akpan, Calabar Area Manager of ITF commended the trainees for their commitment during the three months period and assured them of the fund support.
He said that the 520 graduates were drawn from three senatorial districts of the state, adding that they were trained in aluminum fabrication, events management and fashion designing.
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