The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has urged policymakers to provide incentives aimed at ensuring voluntary conformity to standards by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Director General, SMEDAN, Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, said this at the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) September Breakfast Meeting, tagged "Setting New Standards in Sustainable SME sector Development in Nigeria".
He said policymakers should sensitize MSMEs on the relevance of standards by making information on standards and technical regulations accessible to them.
Dikko who was represented by Director, Enterprises, Development & Promotion, SMEDAN, Mr. Monday Ewans, noted that MSMEs provide the platform for increasing the global competitiveness of the country and is a key driver towards achieving the objectives of the nation's Vision 20:2020.
He stated: "It is my belief that the quickest and most effective way to impact the average Nigerian and for Nigeria to achieve the desired economic breakthrough is to devote time, attention and resources to grow the MSMEs sub-sector. This sub-sector is the legacy that we will leave behind. It is the future of Nigeria. Most countries across the globe have done this and achieved tremendous results."
In his remark, President of NACC, Otunba Oluwatoyin Akomolafe, said the creation, growth, advancement as well as development of SMEs has proved essential to the growth and development of the economies of many countries; particularly the developed and some developing nations like United States of America, China and India.
