Prof Osinbajo to commission MSME shared facilities in Ibadan

VICE President Yemi Osinbajo will this morning, Saturday, December 22, commission the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Clinics (MSME) shared facilities for Fashion, Style and Shea Butter production in Ibadan.

The Oyo State Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Cooperatives, Princess Taibat Adeyemi-Agaba disclosed this on Friday, adding that the commissioning will hold at the Scout Camp Neighbourhood Market, Molete Ibadan by 9.00am, stating that Governor Abiola Ajimobi will be the Chief host at the event.

Princess Adeyemi-Agaba explained that the Shared Facilities scheme is a fallout of the activities of the National MSME Clinics which was introduced to help improve engagements between government and MSMEs in the country, disclosing that the Vice President, Professor Osinbajo the establishment of ‘MSME Shared Facilities” in various locations across the country.

The Commissioner said that the Ibadan Shared Facilities is the first to be established in the country, saying 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.

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She said that the Scheme was in response to the need to provide adequate workspace for vulnerable MSMEs doing business in Nigerian and it would be in collaboration with interested State Governments and critical stakeholders, adding that the scheme would identify key clusters across the country capable of stimulating sustainable economic growth and development.

Princess Adeyemi-Agaba explained that the Scheme will adopt a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for implementation and to guarantee sustainable by drawing support from the Organised Private Sector, Federal and State Governments, stressing that scheme will provide an opportunity 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 provide for the State Governments to provide locations with adequate facilities, the Federal Government through select Federal Government Agencies, and with support from the organised 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, stating that It is expected that after 5 years of private sector management, full ownership of the facility will revert to the relevant State Government.

The Commissioner noted that “the intention is to ensure that products manufactured at designated facilities are easily taken to 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 the government to provide direct technical support to boost the MSMEs space in the country,” Princess Adeyemi-Agaba stated.