Barely one month after putting smiles on the faces of 600 students across the 16 local governments in the Lagos East Senatorial District with presentation of bursary award, Senator Tokunbo Abiru, FCA, the Senator representing the District, has continued to amplify his ‘Doing Good’ mantra by organising a Day Workshop/Clinic for 1,0000 Micro, Small and Medium business owners/entrepreneurs in the Senatorial District.
The workshop, tagged, ‘MSME Clinic /Workshop / Business Aid for 1000 Business Owners’, organized by the Senator, in partnership with The Fate Foundation, was aimed at developing and enhancing participants’ capacities and preventing them from failing in their respective businesses.
The event, which was held at the Funplex Event Centre, CMD Compound, CMD Road, Shangisha, Lagos, on Monday, November 8, 2021, recorded impressive attendance of key players in the MSMEs ecosystem as well as Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
At the event, Senator Abiru, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce and Industry, announced that his Foundation (Tokunbo Abiru Foundation) would provide a whopping N100,000,000 (One hundred million Naira) soft business loan as support for trained MSMEs entrepreneurs as working capital, as well as asset finance for equipment acquisition at a highly subsidized interest rate.
According to the performing senator, the N100million Constituency Intervention Revolving Loan facility would be executed in partnership with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), with minimum limit of N100,000 (One hundred Thousand Naira) and maximum of N1,000,000 (One million naira) and as low as 6% interest rate with flexible repayment plan from 1 to 12 months, starting from the end of the first quarter (Q1), 2022. He also mulled plans to increase the revolving facility in the same sum on yearly basis.
And as a way of supporting Abiru’s exemplary gesture, the Bank of Industry (BOI) agreed to commit additional 100,000,000(One Hundred Million Naira) to the scheme.
Also, packs, which contained seven books written by foremost experts and which are reference materials for the present and future, and which contents are the secret of success of most major businesses around the world, were distributed free to all the participants and guests as souvenirs.
Meanwhile, Abiru, while identifying lack of capacity as the bane of MSMEs, highlighted the critical roles they play in the nation’s economic development.
”MSMEs account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development. They represent about 90% of businesses and more than 70% of employment worldwide.”
“Formal SMEs contribute up to 40% of national income (GDP) in emerging economies. These numbers are significantly higher when informal SMEs are included. The latest SMEDAN/NBS MSME Survey indicates Nigeria’s SMEs contribute nearly 50% of the country’s GDP and account for over 80% of employment in the country.”
“It has been projected by the World Bank that about 600 million jobs will be needed by 2030 to absorb the growing global workforce, which makes SME development a high priority for many governments around the world. In emerging markets, most formal jobs are generated by SMEs, which create 7 out of 10 jobs”, Abiru told the participants.
Abiru said that it was, therefore, instructive to assist the struggling businesses, who were mostly impacted by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, with workable business solutions in the new normal world.
Speaking on the knowledge packs distributed to participants, he said:
“Timeless and highly valuable literature on subjects of Tax Management, Human Capital, Financial Management, Marketing and Communications, Strategy, Legal and Digital Technology will be made available to you at the expense of my Foundation.”
“The leading Nigerian Entrepreneur pack is a practical “do-it-yourself manual” that will greatly aid your business decisions and strategies as you journey along.”
“These materials are authored by the following foremost hands on world acclaimed professional firms with deep insights on the Nigerian business environment such as: ACCA, KPMG, Deloitte,Banwo and Ighodalo, Verraki Business Solutions for Africa, A’lime Media and StreSert”.
Also, representatives of several regulatory agencies such as Bank of Industry (BOI), Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LSIRS), Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Small and Medium Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as well as Digital Technology Experts, in their separate remarks, commended Senator Abiru for initiating the worshop/training as well as providing loan and book materials to enhance the capacities of the MSMEs operators and urged other privilege Nigerians to emulate such gesture and urged participants to use knowledge gained at the training to improve their businesses.
While corroborating the regulatory agencies’ representatives, former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe also urged other elected public office holders to learn from the giant strides of Abiru.
He also urged participants to place a premium on the knowledge acquired in the course of the workshop and business clinic while accompanying Senator Abiru on the tour of the business clinic consulting desks.
A former Lagos State Commissioner of Finance and Governor’s Advisory Council member, Mr. Olawale Edun, also applauded the gesture of Senator Tokunbo Abiru, describing the business aid event as a great initiative.
Earlier in her brief welcome address, Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi, the Executive Director, Fate Foundation, said that the training was organised to assist in developing the capacities of MSMEs business owners as a way of ensuring their survival and success.
She charged participants to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the workshop to develop a workable approach for their respective businesses.
The workshop also witnessed Group Advisory/Master Class Sessions and One-on-One Advisory/Consulting Sessions, during which officials of various regulatory agencies provided insights to participants on key areas of business such as funding, business registration, regulatory requirements, digital marketing, financial management, tax advisory, financing, human and resource management, among others.
Participants were also presented certificates of participation and Entrepreneurship handbooks by FATE Foundation
Also at the event were Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Mr Olukayode Pitan, the Executive Chairman, Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Ayodele Subair; Executive Secretary and Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Mrs Tejumola Abisoye, Hon. S.O.B Agunbiade, Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly; Hon. Olusegun Olukade; Mrs Feyisola Abiru; Asiwaju Olotunfunmi Bashorun, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye; Prince Olusegun Ogunlewe, Asipa Kaoli Olusanya; Alhaja Kafilat Ogbara; Mr Bode Oyedele; Chief (Mrs.) Adebimpe Akinsola; Hon. Saheed Ibikunle, Senator Anthony Adefuye; Pa Olumuyiwa Sosanya, Builder Olusesan Daini, Chairman, Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA and Builder Adebisi Adeola Banjo, Chairman, Ikorodu North LCDA, among many others.
Also, officials from Small and Medium Enterprise Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN), led by the agency’s Director of Planning Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Wale Fasanya and Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) team, led by the Head of SME Desk, Mrs. Phebean Arumemi as well as renowned business consultants were present at the event.