BY FOLASHADE SHIYANBOLA
THE Lagos State Government has said it will increase its funding support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the state by over N2billion in 2021.
The state government said this was in realisation of the fact that MSMEs played a key role in the socio-economic development of any country.
The Commissioner of Finance in the state, Rabiu Olowo, disclosed this in a keynote address he delivered at the Lagos State University 2nd Research Fair, themed, ‘Innovative Products and Designs for Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises’.
He said the decision to support the businesses with the said funds was one of the greatest interventions of the administration in terms of MSMEs.
“As a state, we are to ensure that all Lagos residents have an opportunity to create value with their skills and knowledge and I can tell you that this is one of the greatest submission of the Governor. In our 2021 budget, there is an addition of over N2 billion naira into the MSME funds to support small scale businesses,” he said.
According to the Commissioner, together, 41 million MSMEs employ 60 million people and contribute around 48 per cent to Gross Domestic Product.
Ten per cent of these MSMEs, he said, were based in Lagos.
“It is well known that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises are the key drivers of social-economic transformation in both developed and developing countries. They serve as engine room to boost the economy of developing countries like Nigeria. That is why we are supporting this key sector to boost our GDP,” the Commissioner noted.
Advising MSME operators to embrace technology in their line of business, Olowo said there was also the need for them to be more innovative in their ventures in order to make them customer centres.
He listed government initiatives to include Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, which had supported over 11,500 MSMEs with over N7 billion; trained over 5,800 people; and had placed over 50 per cent of them in employment.
He said operators could also access loans from the Lagos State Science Research And Innovation Council as well as the Bank of Industry.
The Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, and Chairman of the opening ceremony, said there were many global brands in Nigeria, adding however that they were not engine rooms of national productivity.
According to her, this shows there is hope for young people to be more creative, innovative, “do research and go out there with their small businesses and compete with the best.”
She said a significant portion of operators in the system were women who were actively working to provide for their families.
“As part of measures to ensure productivity, the Lagos State Government lunched its MSME funds designed to equip them with survival strategies against unexpected challenges thrown up by COVID-19,” she noted.
