FG to Focus on Agric Startups to Boost Economy Diversity  

The federal government has announced its plan to focus more on startups in the agricultural sector and women-led enterprises in Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja ahead of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Day, which is marked annually on June 27, the Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Olawale Fasanya, noted that agriculture was the current focus of the federal government in line with its economic diversification policy.

He says, “As the world marks the 2022 MSME Day, we remain unyielding in strengthening MSMEs and startups, particularly in agriculture, agro-based industries, as well as youth and women-led enterprises.

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“This is part of efforts to ensure that Nigeria is converted from a consuming nation to a producing nation through the activities of the subsector.”

Speaking further, Fasanya said that to ensure that funds were available to the businesses, the agency had set up a matching fund which was currently running with Jaiz Bank.

He added that the SMEDAN microfinance bank’s take off was being delayed as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) upgrade of operational capital from N50m to N200M for tier one micro finance banks.