Cross River boosts MSMEs as Otu commits N1bn to economic growth

The Cross River State Government has signed a Matching Fund Collaboration of ₦1Billion with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) for the Development of MSMEs in the State.

Bassey Otu, the Cross River governor, made the commitment in Abuja on behalf of the Cross River State Government when he hosted a delegation from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) ⁠led by Charles Odii, Director General and Chief Executive Officer.

The governor maintained that his Administration is committed to providing support for the growth and development of the new and existing MSMEs in the State through providing Enterprise Training, capacity building, and business development support at the Cross River State Entrepreneurship Development Center(CRSEDC) and access to affordable finance, monitoring and evaluation.

Read also: Infrastructure, market access drive MSMEs to Lagos, Rivers, Kano

He stated that the Cross River State Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA) would be the special purpose vehicle (SPV) to act as an implementing agency on behalf of the Cross River State Government.

Earlier, Charles Odii, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) said the collaboration with the federal agency was aimed at harnessing a pool of resources and strengthening entrepreneurial development services by linking entrepreneurial training with finance for the overall development of Nano, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Cross River State.

BusinessDay however reports that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the Governor had Great Usetu, Director General, of Cross River State Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency, who co-signed on behalf of the State, while the DG/ CEO, and the legal officer of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii and Yusuf Salman, respectively, signed for SMEDAN.