Mr. Olawale Fasanya, Director General (DG) of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), said the Agency would continue to support entrepreneurs to create jobs and alleviate poverty in Nigeria.

Fasanya said this during the flag-off of Women In Self Empowerment Empowerment Programme (WISE-P) in Katsina on Sunday.

Represented by Alhaji Ado Bello, Director of Enterprises and Promotions of the agency, the DG said the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) subsector played a critical role in the transformation of the Nigerian economy.

According to him, MSMEs account for the highest jobs created and poverty alleviation in the country.

He said a national survey conducted in 2020 showed that 39.6 MSMEs employed 62.5 million people in the country, which represented 80.2 per cent of the national labour force.

He said in order to ensure access to finance, MSMEs and SMEDAN were partnering with a Non-Governmental Organisation, African Centre for Global Entrepreneurial Leadership (ACGEL), to implement the Leadership Entrepreneurial Game Show (LEGS).

“The Agency is also partnering with the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Jaiz Bank and Sterling Bank to access Matching Fund for Micro and Small Enterprises,” he said.

Fasanya noted that SMEDAN had implemented a Specialised Skills  programme for Internally Displced Persons, (IDPs), retirees and prison inmates, in six states across the federation.

He said the states included Ondo, Imo, Katsina, Borno, Rivers and Niger.

According to him, 240 persons were supported with entrepreneural and vocational skills, 40 people benefitted in the states.