The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria says it provides the needed development services for business stakeholders to ensure that Small and Medium Enterprises do not collapse.
Alhaji Bature Masari, the Director-General of SMEDAN, said this in Abuja at a News Agency of Nigeria forum.
Masari said the agency had established offices across the country to monitor, evaluate and provide guidance to small and medium enterprises for better performance.
He said: “We make sure that our offices are functional.
“We are interacting with individuals and groups with a view to ensuring that whoever that is able to access any intervention funds utilises it properly.
“We are there to facilitate access to finance after identifying individuals and their groups that are willing to set up micro, small and medium enterprises.
“SMEDAN ensures round the clock monitoring and evaluation of their performance with a view to providing guidance needed to reduce the incidence of failure of enterprises shortly after establishment.
“We also ensure sustainability in SMEs development in every state and local government, which is the reason behind its establishment.”
Masari said the agency provided business development services support to Federal Government programmes for youth empowerment, leading to the “achievement of laudable results in the area of job creation and poverty alleviation”.
Masari added that due to the experience and expertise SMEDAN had, it provided such services to the ‘YouWIN’ awardees that recorded high rate of success.
Masari said same services would be translated and transferred to other beneficiaries of Federal Government intervention fund in the SME sector.
He called for synergy and collaboration in the implementation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises-related programmes to avoid duplication in SMEDAN activities, adding that SMEDAN should be the driving agency for such enterprises.
NAN.