Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, are said to be responsible for more than 90 percent of businesses across the globe and over 70 percent of employment generation worldwide. The MSMEs also contribute greatly to the nation’s gross domestic product globally.
In Nigeria, MSMEs are largely uncoordinated and unregistered, thus lacking the basic government assistance to enable them to survive.
The theme of this year’s MSMEs Day, enhancing the role of MSMEs as drivers of sustainable growth and innovation, underscores the critical importance of MSMEs in driving economic development. Through the theme, the United Nations hopes to encourage nations of the world to invest in the development of MSMEs in their countries.
Msmes in Nigeria suffer a lot of neglect ranging from lack of power supply, to multiple taxation, among others A lecturer with Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Dr Emmanuel Osilem, is of the opinion that for the SMEs in Nigeria to achieve the expected goal, the government must be deliberate in creating an enabling environment for them.
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According to him, the current administration may have beautiful ideas to empower the MSMSEs, but other factors like the sudden removal of the petrol subsidy and the high cost of production in the country make it almost impossible for the MSMSEs to achieve their aim.
He noted that a wealthy and functional MSMEs in the country are critical in the quest by the government to achieve success in the fight against poverty, hunger and rising wave of unemployment, calling for government to give greater attention to the sector.
The chairman of, coalition of youth bodies in Rivers State, Mr Saviour Oscar-Imeabe, berated the government for not doing enough to ensure that its policies on MSMEs development yield the desired results.
Mr Oscar-imeabe lamented that under the current administration, millions of youths are languishing in poverty due to their inability to access the government social welfare packages.
The primary role of MSMEs is to ensure steady growth in the economy, create jobs and ensure a more inclusive development.
Experts believe that for any country to talk of ending poverty, unemployment, improving per capita income and enhancing value addition to raw materials, government must create a favorable policy to drive msmes
