Vice-President Kashim Shettima has assured that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is committed to the prosperity of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
Shettima, represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, gave the assurance at the World MSMEs Day (Joint Nigeria and African Union event), held in Abuja.
“It is no wonder that the United Nations has dedicated today, June 27, to recognise MSMEs and to celebrate them for their immense contributions to the economies of nations all over the world.
“In Nigeria, the stakes are even higher when it comes to MSMEs.
“MSMEs in Nigeria account for 96 per cent of all businesses, they contribute to our economy by over 45 per cent and without them 80 per cent of the current Nigerian workforce will be without employment.
“These facts provide us with the evidence that if MSMEs prosper, Nigeria prospers, if MSMEs prosper, Africa prospers, if MSMEs prosper, the entire world prospers,” he said.
He appreciated the leadership of the African Union Commission for partnering with the Nigerian Government to bring together relevant stakeholders to lend their voice to the important conversation on what could be done to better support MSMEs in Africa.
Earlier, Mr Tola Adekunle-Johnson, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, reiterated the determination of government to put modalities in place to ensure that MSMEs access single-digit loans easily.
He thanked WEMA Bank for partnering with President Tinubu’s administration to expand opportunities in the MSMEs space.
“The essence of the partnership is to ensure that small businesses are able to get single-digit loans,” he said.
