Federal Government has given an award to the Corporate Affairs Commission CAC in recognition of its support for the development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises MSME sector in the country.
The award was received by the Registrar General and CEO of the CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, at a public presentation of a photobook, “BUHARIOSINBAJO: THE MSME STORY,” at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of the awardees, Alhaji Garba Abubakar thanked the federal government for the recognition and pledged to rededicate themselves to service.
The Director General, who recalled the flag-off of the National MSME Clinic in Aba in 2016, stressed the need for the continuation of the program to ensure the formalization of more small businesses across the nooks and crannies of the country.
Speaking earlier, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, represented by Boss Mustapha, the secretary to the government of the federation, noted with delight the successes recorded by the MSME Clinics since inauguration.
Yemi Osinbajo in particular noted the success recorded by entrepreneurs like Mustapha Abubakar Gajibo (MSME winner 2022), who are changing society after becoming the first person to make electric vehicles in Nigeria and Africa despite dropping out of the university, and Ifeoluwa Olatayo (MSME Award winner 2019), an award-winning entrepreneur with a background in agriculture and climate adaptation.
Also speaking the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, applauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to the growth of the MSME sector in Nigeria.
In her remark, the Minister of State, Industry, Trade, and Investment, Ambassador Maryam Yelwaji Katagum, who reviewed the book, noted with satisfaction the present administration’s tremendous achievements in growing the sector and being documented in style.
Other speakers at the event include the United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Nexim Bank Managing Director, Abba Bello, and the Chief Launcher and Chairman of the BUA Group, Abdulsamad Isiaka Rabiu, represented by Dr Aliyu Idi Hong, a former Minister of Industry Trade and Investment.
The CAC’s Head of the Media Unit, Rasheed Mahe recalls that in 2019, the Commission began free registration of business names supported by the Federal Government as part of its post-COVID-19 Pandemic Survival Intervention to Support Micro and Small Businesses to formalize their Businesses.
He said Under the arrangement, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the free registration of 6,606 business names in each of the 34 states, while Abia, Lagos, and Kano had 7,906, 9,084, and 8,406, respectively.
While definitions of microbusiness, small business, and medium business vary from country to country, Nigeria defines its Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as enterprises having up to 250 employees.
Micro-enterprises have between 1 and 9 employees; small enterprises have between 10 and 49 employees; and medium-sized enterprises have between 50 and 249 employees.
Nigeria has over 37,073 million MSMEs, accounting for 84 per cent of total jobs in the country, among other contributions to the economy. Lagos, Oyo, and Kano are believed to have the largest number of MSMEs, Rasheed Mahe Explained.
AUWALU MUHAMMED
