The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) have signed a formal partnership agreement to strengthen the delivery of MSME development programmes and opportunities across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas.
The agreement was signed in Abuja by the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr. Charles Odii, and the National President of ALGON, Hon. (Engr.) Bello Lawal, as part of efforts to ensure that enterprise support reaches businesses and entrepreneurs at the community level.
The partnership provides a framework for SMEDAN and ALGON to work with local governments to identify entrepreneurs and businesses within their communities and connect them to relevant government interventions, programmes, financing opportunities, training and business development support.
A key focus will be the grassroots implementation of SMEDAN’s flagship programmes, including One Local Government One Product (OLOP), ensuring that local businesses with viable products and economic potential are identified, supported and connected to markets and opportunities.
Speaking at the signing, SMEDAN Director General, Charles Odii, said the partnership was important to ensuring that the impact of MSME interventions was felt beyond major commercial centres.
“The businesses that drive Nigeria’s economy are not concentrated in our major cities alone. They are in our communities, markets and neighbourhoods across the country. Working with ALGON gives us a stronger structure for reaching those businesses and ensuring that the opportunities available through SMEDAN get to the people who need them.”
He said the partnership would also enable SMEDAN to better understand the specific needs and economic strengths of different local communities, allowing interventions to be more responsive to local realities.
The SMEDAN DG noted that the OLOP programme provides a particularly important platform for this approach by helping local governments identify and develop products and economic activities in which their communities have competitive potential.
Hon. (Engr.) Bello Lawal, National President of ALGON, said local governments were uniquely positioned to support the identification and mobilisation of entrepreneurs because of their proximity to communities.
He said ALGON would work with SMEDAN to facilitate the effective implementation of enterprise development initiatives across the local government areas and strengthen the connection between national MSME programmes and grassroots businesses.
The partnership is expected to enhance collaboration between SMEDAN, local governments and other relevant stakeholders in areas including enterprise formalisation, access to finance, skills development, market access, digital adoption, business advisory services, local production and value-chain development.
It will also create opportunities for local governments to support the mapping and identification of businesses within their jurisdictions, helping to build a stronger evidence base for targeted MSME interventions.