The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment Hajia Aisha Abubakar has inaugurated the National Technical Implementation Committee (NTIC) of the National Council on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Abuja. The committee which is made of Public and Private Organization that are stakeholders in the business industry was charged to digest the issues in the proposal thoroughly and make valuable inputs that will be presented to the National Council on MSME which is chaired by the Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbanjo.
The proposal highlighted the areas of reform such as improve regulation, access to finance, enabling business services and improved access to market.
While inaugurating the committee, the Minister revealed that the MSME account for 84 percent of the labour force, adding that the total number of SMEs in Nigeria stood at 37,067,416. Hajia Abubakar however lamented that MSMEs in Nigeria were facing challenges such as multiple taxation, policy and regulatory problems, lack of access to finance and difficulty in accessing the market in some cases.
She therefore, reminded members that the MSME was key to job creation and sustenance of security. The Minister further said that the Vice President was passionate about the MSME and urged them to be innovative in their submissions so as to make changes that form part of their legacies.
UMAR MARYAM YUSUF
For: DD Press, FMITI.
