Mariam Katagum, minister of state for industry, trade, and investment, has emphasized the ministry’s commitment to promoting programs that would spur economic expansion and development, particularly for the nation’s Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
She made this statement yesterday in Lagos at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) second visibility and awareness event, which was intended to highlight the milestones and successes in enhancing the ability of local MSMEs/manufacturers to produce high-quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and healthcare-related products.
162 MSMEs have benefited from and continue to benefit from the technical assistance and training given by four partner UN agencies and UNIDO since the project’s launch.
MSMEs are the backbone of any expanding economy, according to Katagum, who was represented by the Director of Industrial Development at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Adewale Bakare.
Due to the extensive work that has gone into empowering MSMEs in the production of high-quality PPEs in accordance with international best practices, she claimed that the implementation of this project has contributed to boosting the economy and opening Nigeria’s healthcare-related products to the global market.
The program’s goal, according to UNIDO’s regional director Jean Bakole, is to help MSMEs continue operating in the COVID-19 environment. Additionally, it guarantees that MSMEs are involved in maintaining local content.
Bakole said: “Based on what we saw during the period, we need to engage our MSMEs to produce and to ensure that production is quality, which can help face the health issue we were facing at that time.
“We are also contributing to the resilience of the MSMEs in the country because as you may know the MSMEs constitute the big pillar from which any economy can start. I thank the government of Nigeria for accepting to support this project,” he said.
According to Miss Cecile Tassin-Pelzer, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation in Nigeria, this initiative is a crucial part of the EU’s support for Nigeria’s participation in COVID-19 through the EU basket fund.
She claimed that in order to supplement continuing government efforts under the national financial response plan, the EU has raised 50 million euros through the basket fund.
In order to meet the demand, it has made it possible to quickly ramp up laboratory capacity as well as mobilize needed supplies. In light of this, Nigeria discovered that COVID-19 caused 73% of businesses to lay off employees. Therefore, more money was raised to handle the project’s socioeconomic component.
