THE Small and Medium Enterprises Developnent Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has empowered over 440 small businesses with start-up equipment and training for economic growth of the country.
Speaking at the weekend in Abuja at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) distribution centre, Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said the empowerment was done under the National Business Skills Development Initiative (NBSDI) of the agency.
In the FCT, 55 people, including Persons With Disability (PWDs), were empowered with equipments in different trades as an enablement to small businesses aimed at helping them to succeed.
Of the number, 35 who trained in fashion design received industrial machines and the over 10 participants who trained in catering received mixers, gas cylinders and an industrial oven each.
The other five who trained in leather works were also equipped with the necessary machines for their business.
SMEDAN training and empowerment programme covers 13 states across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. In all, 715 small businesses will be empowered.
So far, about 440 businesses in Katsina, Niger, the FCT and five other states have been empowered with equipments while the remaining five states are expected to be empowered within days.
At the distribution centre in Abuja, the DG told the beneficiaries that “India and China changed their economies because they focused on people like you, the small businesses.
“In this administration, we are not paying lip service to SMEs development and that is why we are doing all of these today and much more that is lined up.
“We understand times are challenging, so what we have done is to reduce the cost of your acquiring this knowledge and skill and the cost of acquiring the equipment.”
Odii charged the beneficiaries not to sell the kits given to them but utilise them and ensure to empower others around them to create more jobs for Nigerians.
Ashiru Abdullahi, one of the beneficiaries and a Person with Disability (PWD) who is trained in fashion design, thanked the agency for empowerment, stating that the industrial sewing machine he got would enable him to expand his business.
Another beneficiary, Okeoghene Akaeva, a caterer, said she was happy for the opportunity to learn a skill and also excited about the kits.
“Even though we were told we would be given the items, it still came as a surprise to me and I am very happy,” she stated, thanking SMEDAN for the gesture.
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