>
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will today inaugurate the first Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Clinics (MSME) shared facilities for Fashion, Style and Shea Butter production in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
disclosed on Friday that the
The commissioning will hold at the Scout Camp Neighbourhood Market, Molete Ibadan by 9.00am with Governor Abiola Ajimobi as Chief Host of the event.
The Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Cooperatives, Princess Taibat Adeyemi-Agaba, explained that the Shared Facilities scheme is a fallout of the activities of the National MSME Clinics which were introduced to help improve engagements between government and MSMEs in the country. She said Osinbajo will oversee the establishment of ‘MSME Shared Facilities” in various locations across the country.
According to her, the Ibadan Shared Facility is the first to be established in the country. She added that the MSME Shared Facilities Scheme will be a Core Strategic Scheme of the ongoing National MSME Clinics under the guidance of the Vice President.
She said the scheme was in response to the need to provide adequate workspace for vulnerable MSMEs doing business in Nigeria, adding it would be in collaboration with interested state governments and critical stakeholders. The commissioner further explained that the scheme would identify key clusters across the country capable of stimulating sustainable economic growth and development.
According to Adeyemi-Agaba, the scheme will adopt a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for implementation and to guarantee sustainable by drawing support from the organized Private Sector, federal and state governments. She stressed that the scheme would provide opportunities for small businesses to use the state-of-the-art equipment at a token for their production processes and value addition.
She said that the partnership structure will require the state governments to provide locations with adequate facilities, while the Federal Government through select Federal Government Agencies, and with support from the organized private sector (OPS), will provide all required equipment and machinery. The private sector will provide eligible facility management services to guarantee efficiency and sustainability of the scheme. It is expected that after five years of private sector management, full ownership of the facility will revert to the relevant state governments.
The commissioner further noted that “the intention is to ensure that products manufactured at designated facilities are easily taken to the market, and that they meet local and international standards and best practices. In addition, the intention is also to ensure that relevant regulatory authorities such as NAFDAC and SON provide required certifications for all facilities while other key government Institutions are on hand to provide necessary support for MSMEs.
“The scheme is expected to guarantee Improved quality and productivity level, improve the contribution of the MSME space to GDP, improve income levels and export receipts and to enable government provide direct technical support to boost the MSMEs space in the country.”