In a resolute effort to actualise President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of reforming the economy for sustained inclusive growth and accelerate the diversification of Nigeria’s economy, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which highlights the indispensable role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in driving economic growth.
The signing ceremony took place at the corporate headquarters of SMEDAN in Idu, Abuja, showcased the commitment of both agencies to bolstering the growth of SMEs and addressing startup challenges, in line with the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act.
During the ceremony, the director-general of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi underscored the pivotal importance of SMEs in the nation’s economic landscape, noting that they represent over 90 per cent of businesses in Nigeria. He emphasised the critical role of technological innovation in boosting productivity within the sector, stating, “When you talk about critical sectors, SMEs are the first, and if we want to create prosperity for our country, we should start by digitising SMEs.”
Abdullahi stressed the necessity of creating a comprehensive database of SMEs to facilitate targeted incentives and promote digital literacy among entrepreneurs. He pointed to the transformative potential of technology in expanding market reach and enhancing business efficiency, citing successful cases where ICT training programmes organised by NITDA for women have significantly boosted their market presence and efficiency through social media platforms.
“As SMEs, you can use technology to expand your market reach and, at NITDA, we have trained women on ICT and they have been able to expand their market reach and productivity using social media platforms. If we can do this, it will change the SMEs landscape in Nigeria,” he asserted.
Highlighting the transformative power of technology within Nigeria, Abdullahi shared success stories of SMEs evolving from startups to billion-dollar organisations. He expressed confidence that technology could help all SMEs scale up, increase productivity and contribute to sustainable prosperity for the country.
In response, the director-general of SMEDAN, Charles Odii underscored the essence of the MOU agreement, emphasising collaboration with NITDA to fulfil the president’s mandate of creating jobs and digitising Nigeria’s economy.
Odii stressed that businesses failing to embrace digital innovation are shortchanging themselves and highlighted the potential impact of digital processes on the 40 million small businesses in the country, positing that equipping these businesses with digital tools could significantly boost Nigeria’s economy.
“What we are doing here, in addition to sensitising the public on the implementation of the Startup Act, is to organise our small businesses where they can use innovative solutions to solve their problems,” Odii stated.
The signing of the MOU represents a pivotal step toward leveraging technology to revolutionise Nigeria’s SME landscape, setting the stage for sustainable growth and prosperity.
