Lagos to Establish Human Devt Fund for SME's
By Shaka Momodu
Lagos State Government is to establish a "Human Development Fund" to provide small and medium scale enterprises (SME's)with the necessary funding and managerial backups for their sustenance.
Disclosing this at the official flag-off of the "Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises" the Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu represented by the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, noted that this has become necessary given the inability of most SME's to access the over N22.5billion funds earmarked for them by banks.
He said the state had initiated the move for such a fund, which will be sourced from various donor agencies, so as to enable the state's engine of growth to move smoothly adding that a pool of accountants will be created to enable the enterprises meet the accounting standard required by banks.
According to him, though the state had started the counting process, the current exercise will further enable the state to update its database on such issues as agro-allied production and to process outfits for local technology and machinery.
Besides, the provision of a superb database, "should assist the state in its economic development programmes especially in the provision of infrastructure support programmes such as industrial estate development, capacity building initiatives, strengthening of policy, formulation and implementation process and provision of necessary infrastructural facilities especially roads electricity, water telephone and IT facilities," he added.
In her opening remarks, the Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, (SMEDAN) Mrs. Modupe Adelaja disclosed that the proposed survey/census of SMEs in all LGs of the federation was to provide adequate statistics on available loans.
Noting too that plans are a foot to convert the nation's industrial development centres into industrial parks, the Director-General said industrial parks will save investors the pains of having to purchase vast expanse of land with the possibility of conflict that such portends.
Adelaja added that despite the existence of various statistics by other government agencies, the responsibilities of the agency dictates that it must act more precisely in getting other comprehensive data.
She said the agency plans "outreach" in key sector to enable SMEs have necessary back ups to assist their growth and development. Adedoja urged various states and local governments to develop such outreach with the peculiarities of their areas as the focal point.
She also disclosed that the agency will identify 5-10 viable projects per local government on which it will concentrate its support in all the local government areas of the federation. While calling for the creation of state and local government committees on SMEs to network and share experiences among the three tiers of government.
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