By Onwa Ekor
The Cross River Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency, MEDA, is seeking new partnerships with the United Nations to expand support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and protect local innovations.
MEDA officials held separate meetings with the United Nations Development Programme and the World Intellectual Property Organisation at UN House in Abuja recently.
The talks with UNDP build on a June visit by a UN team to Calabar.
Under the UN’s Integrated Smart State Programme, technical and financial resources will be aligned with Cross River’s economic priorities to co-develop solutions for MSMEs.
“By aligning our state priorities with the global expertise of WIPO and UNDP, we are creating an environment where MSMEs can innovate securely and scale effectively,” said Great Ogban, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of CR-MEDA.
In a separate meeting, MEDA discussed frameworks with WIPO to help local businesses secure intellectual property rights.
WIPO Administrative Representative Aje Adofikwu, said the organisation is ready to partner with the state, noting that IP protection is key to growth and commercial expansion for entrepreneurs.
MEDA said it will continue to leverage global networks to strengthen the state’s enterprise ecosystem, attract targeted support, and drive long-term economic prosperity.
