Governor of Osun, Mr Gboyega Oyetola has expressed the readiness his administration to continue to support the growth of medium and small scale businesses in the state in a bid to boost the economy of the state.
Governor Oyetola stated this on Tuesday in his keynote address while declaring open the 2019 Osun Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise opportunities open fair in Osogbo.
The governor who was represented at the event by the Supervisor for Finance, Mr Bola Oyebamiji described Osun economy as one dominated by the informal sector, noting that he is delighted on the organising of the programme which is aimed at touching the lives of the greater percentage of Osun people.
He commended SMEDAN as an agency that has performed tremendously well since it was created through the various programmes that has touched millions of lives across Nigeria stressing that it is a testament of their performance on the stimulation and development of MSMEs across the country.
Speaking further at the event which has as its theme: “Expanding Market Frontiers For MSMES” governor Oyetola explained that his administration in the next few weeks will role out series of empowerment programmes for women and other small scale enterprises in the state.
According to the governor, “I appreciate the efforts of SMEDAN in organizing this programme which is aimed at boosting the economy, there is no government that can efficiently add value to the society without considering the micro, small and medium scale enterprises.
“it is an important scheme and an important sector that any serious government must focus it’s attention on. In the state of Osun, we have been supporting SMEDAN, we have been empowering our people by building their.
“the current administration is fortunate in that it succeeded a regime which did so well for the development of MSMEs in the last eight years. The immediate past administration led by Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola ensured that through Osun Micro Credit Agency, interest free credit facilities were extended to more than 133 SMEs, 800 cooperative societies, 9,955 individuals across the 30 local government councils and the Area Office in Modakeke.
During the same period, in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID, UK), the State empowered not less than 5,000 MSMEs under the Growth and Empowerment in States (GEMS) Scheme. Similarly, through Osun Broilers Out-growers Production Scheme (OBOPS), more than 300 millionaires have emerged.
“These and many more signed post government’s efforts at supporting the revitalization of MSMEs in Osun. For us, we are not leaving any stone unturned regarding MSMEs development and in a matter of weeks from now, we shall unveil various programmes that will see us complementing past gains.
“this present administration too has a focus to continue in that stride. We are going to be empowering our SMEs with huge amount of money. We expect it be productive and add value to our economy and at the same time help in stabilizing our food security “. The governor stated.
In an address, the Director General, SMEDAN, Mr Umar Dikko commended the state government of Osun for creating the enabling environment which has allowed SMEs to grow rapidly in the state, noting that this has made their job easy in Osun.
He explained that the major priority of the agency is to promote “made in Nigeria products and services” as well as enhancing the competitiveness SMEs which he said the state government of Osun has done tremendously well on.
He said, “the agency is positioned as a “One Stop Shop” for growing and resuscitating micro, small and medium enterprises in the country and we must commend the state government of Osun for having done much in this regard.
“our job in Osun has been made so easy easy because of the efforts of the state government especially on the creation of an enabling environment which has helped small businesses to grow.
Also speaking, the Zonal Coordinator for SMEDAN, Mr Gbenga Ogundeji urged participants at the open fair to explore the opportunity of using the medium to interface with government regulatory agencies who are present at the event.
Goodwill messages were delivered by government regulatory agencies such : NAFDAC, Osun Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Standard Organization of Nigeria among others.
The governor was then taken round the various stands to inspect some of the locally made materials which were on display.
