In a bid to implement the agenda of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR of Reforming the Economy for Sustained Inclusive Growth by accelerating diversification of the nation’s economy, a Memorandum of Understanding highlighting the pivotal role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been signed by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

Recognising SMEs as the backbone of the nation’s economic landscape, the MOU was signed with a primary focus on the growth of SMEs and tackling startup challenges while implementing the Nigeria Startup Act.

The MOU was signed by the two organisations, Friday at the corporate headquarters of the SMEDAN agency in Idu, Abuja.

The objective of the MOU is to establish a strategic partnership between NITDA and SMEDAN and to ensure that issues relating to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are addressed in implementing the Startup Act.

Speaking at the ceremony, the NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE emphasised the critical importance of SMEs and cited their contribution to Nigeria’s economy, where they represent over 90% of businesses.

Underscoring the need for technological innovation to enhance productivity in the sector, Inuwa stated that “when you talk about critical sectors, SMEs are the first and if we want to create prosperity for our country, we should start by digitising SMEs”.

He further emphasised the necessity of creating a comprehensive database of SMEs to facilitate targeted incentives and foster digital literacy among entrepreneurs.

Inuwa highlighted the transformative potential of technology in expanding market reach and enhancing the productivity of entrepreneurs’ businesses while pointing to successful cases where ICT training programmes organised by NITDA for women have helped them leverage social media platforms, thereby significantly boosting their market presence and efficiency.

“As SMEs, you can use technology to expand your market reach and at NITDA, we have trained women on ICT and they have been able to expand their market reach and productivity using social media platforms. If we can do this, it will change the SMEs landscape in Nigeria”, he added.

The transformative power of technology within Nigeria was proudly exemplified by Inuwa, where he narrated how several SMEs have blossomed from nothing to become billion-dollar organisations.

“In Africa, we have 7 Unicorns and out of them, 5 originated from Nigeria. So, we believe that with technology, we can help all the SMEs to scale up, increase their productivity and create sustainable prosperity for our country”, he asserted.

In his remark, the SMEDAN Director General, Charles Odii stated that the essence of the MOU agreement is to collaborate with NITDA in fulfilling the mandate of the President’s agenda in creating jobs and digitising Nigeria’s economy.

While stating that any business that does not take advantage of digital innovation and services is short-changing itself, Odii noted that if the 40 million small businesses in the country equip themselves with digital processes whereby each small business employs at least 5 people, it will have a significant impact on Nigeria’s economy.

“What we are doing here in addition to sensitising the public on the implementation of the Startup Act is to organise our small businesses where they can use innovative solutions to solve their problems”, he averred.

The signing of the MOU signified a crucial step towards harnessing the power of technology to revolutionise Nigeria’s SME landscape, thereby paving the way for sustainable growth and prosperity.

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The African Development Bank and Google have formalised cooperation aimed at advancing digital transformation in Africa.

According to a statement, both parties signed a Letter of Intent during the Global Africa Business Initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The agreement was a commitment to harness emerging technologies, extend and improve infrastructure, and refine talent and skills in the continent, the statement revealed.

It noted that while working with the African Development Bank, Google would offer technical assistance to bolster entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises in digitising their businesses, securing financing, mastering digital marketing, and advancing private sector development.

“Our journey from a two per cent telephony penetration in 1998 to today’s era of 4G, 5G, and AI signifies immense progress. With 70 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africans under 30, our focus is on catalysing businesses to create jobs and offer innovative solutions,” said AfDB’s President, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina.

Google’s Senior Vice President of Research, Technology and Society, Dr James Manyika, added, “With advanced technologies like AI, the most profound transformation is yet to come.

“Collaboration will be essential if Africa is to realise this opportunity, building for everyone and ensuring no-one is left behind. We are excited to collaborate with the African Development Bank to work towards this shared commitment.”

Punch

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TECHDIGEST – The survival of the 21st century Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, (MSME) has been said to largely depend on the adoption and adaptation of digital technologies, hence, the call on entrepreneurs by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), to embrace it to increase productivity and profitability of their businesses. 

The NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, expressed this view as a keynote speaker at the 10th edition of Abuja Enterprise Agency’s Business 360 Clinics with the theme “Technology Utilisation and Innovation: Its Effect on SME Profitability and Productivity. 

The NITDA’s boss who was represented at the event by the Acting National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation,(ONDI), Mr Yakubu Musa, said the effective utilisation of technology by SMEs will result in improved efficiency, and invariably leads to higher productivity. So, productivity increases when SMEs focuses on progress, rather than perfection.

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He maintained that there is a significant impact on the economic survival of the nation if technology is embraced. He said, “Technology utilisation exerts a significant impact on the economic survival of nations, particularly, in today’s high-technology market where technological innovations are rapid and disruptive. This has become the gains derived from the adoption and adaptation of existing technologies while also investing in the creation of new technologies to ensure sustained growth in Nigeria’s SMEs.

While acknowledging that technological progress allows for efficient production of superior goods and services by SME, Kashifu noted that it remains the drivers of global economic growth. ”They play a major role in the economies of all the countries in the world by their contribution to national economic growth and employment. SMEs contribute greatly to job creation and overall economic growth,” he added. 

The DG informed that NITDA has undertaken several collaborative initiatives and programmes that are positively impacting on Nigeria’s SME. He listed some of the collaborations to include partnership with Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), on Digital Marketing for SMEs, Gender Techpreneurship Workshop for Women, partnership with the AEA on Digital Innovation Training for 300 secondary school students in the Federal Capital Territory, and many more.

Earlier in his welcome address, the AEA Chief Executive Officer, Malam Shehu Abdulquadir, described the theme as very apt because it hinged on technological adaptation towards the profitability of SMEs because the outbreak of COVID-19 has brought a lot of distribution which has made technological adaptation compelling. 

He stated further that the program was aimed at supporting the recovery of SMEs from the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that, supporting SMEs after the pandemic would help them gain their traction back.   

He revealed that the Agency has disbursed N200 million to 850 SMEs in Abuja and by next month, it is expected to disburse other tranches of 3.5 million USD to over 2,500 SMEs. 

He said beneficiaries of the first tranches have retired the grant disbursed by the Agency from the World Bank assuring that “we are going to get more people from diverse stakeholders across all the six councils in the FCT to benefit from it. 

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