Ayodeji Ayenuwa
The Federal Government plans to inaugurate the SME Advisory Council, as announced by Tola Adekunle-Johnson, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President of Job Creations and SMEs.
The revelation took place during the graduation ceremony of 5,300 Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) from Google’s Hustle Academy in Abuja.
Adekunle-Johnson emphasized the critical role of the SME Council, citing the substantial contributions of small businesses to the Nigerian economy and the pressing need for support.
He stated, “The SME Council is necessary, going by the significant contributions of small businesses to the Nigerian economy; SMEs need huge support to thrive, especially now.”
The Hustle Academy, a program tailored to address challenges specific to SMBs in Africa, celebrated the graduation of 5,300 entrepreneurs, marking the continuation of its impact since its inception in 2022, with over 10,300 participants, including 4,400 from Nigeria.
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Charles Odii, Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), underscored the role of SMEs in driving the economy.
Odii disclosed, “About 96 per cent of businesses in the country are small businesses while multinationals like MTN, Google, and other multinationals occupy four per cent of the ecosystem.”
He further emphasized the importance of supporting SMBs, stating, “SMBs created 80 per cent of the jobs in the economy, and about 72 per cent of such businesses are led by women within the age range of 20 to 60 years.”
In acknowledging Google’s efforts, Adekunle-Johnson expressed the government’s support for the technology firm’s initiatives, stating, “While appreciating the efforts of Google, the FG will support what the technology firm is doing.”
Meanwhile, Olumide Balogun, Country Director for Google West Africa, praised the resilience of SMBs, highlighting the challenges they face, including inflation, forex instability, cost of living, and insecurity.
Balogun referenced the IMF, stating, “There is a $400 billion finance gap for several million SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa,” and emphasized Google’s commitment to providing tech skills for their growth, saying, “Google is ready to provide the tech skills to support their growth.”
Techrectory with Agency Report.
