Скачать или смотреть President Buhari’s Financial Support For MSMEs In The Economic Sustainability Plan Is Very Robust

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE- PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE 3RD VIRTUAL NATIONAL MSME AWARDS ON THURSDAY, 16TH OF JULY 2020



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I bring you all greetings from President Muhammadu Buhari, who has specifically asked me to congratulate all the finalists for this year’s National MSME Awards. I want to thank the organizing team for putting this together and our partners for their hard work and creativity in putting up the first virtual MSMEs award.

We are all delighted that the MSMEs, many of whom have spent the past year doing outstanding work, did not miss the chance to be recognized and celebrated at the 2020 edition of the annual MSMEs awards.

We don’t take for granted the positive impact of these awards on the MSMEs sector in Nigeria. Since its inauguration in 2018, hundreds of MSMEs, carefully selected from thousands of annual applications, have benefited from these awards in various ways – cash prizes, cars, and of course, the much-needed local and international media attention.

Permit me to take us back to 2018, when the little-known Jerry Malo, the CEO of Bennie Agro, took home the most prestigious award of that year.

Benny had been discovered earlier at the Plateau State edition of the National MSMEs Clinic. Today, Bennie Agro is one of the most recognizable innovators in Nigeria. He has since gone on to win several other awards following the recognition that he got at the MSMEs awards.

We must also mention Hajaraisan FZE, whose CEO is Alhaji Aminu Banigo, a solar technology company that won the award for the best male participant 2019 after being discovered at the Kano State MSMEs Clinic. The company has since gained greater visibility and is now responsible for the installation of solar panels across the Kano metropolis.

We also have Soupa Nigeria Limited, whose CEO is Ifeoluwa Olatayo, and she works with smallholder farmers in Nigeria. The company won the 2019 edition of the MSME of the year and has gone on to receive international recognition.

These are just a few examples of the many MSMEs that are demonstrating the catalyzing impact of the MSME clinics nationwide, as well as the annual awards.

So, we can confidently say that the national MSME clinic platform is a potential pipeline for these awards. This, in turn, can generate significant exposure (both locally and internationally) for any shortlisted businesses.

As you may be aware, all the finalists typically get, as part of the price package, two weeks of media attention to showcase or market their products. I am glad to note that this year has not been an exception, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, businesses are facing their most challenging times possibly in history, and the impact is particularly severe on MSMEs.

The central plan of our response as a Government to the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the Economic Sustainability Plan recently launched by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In that plan, which essentially envisages a 2.3 trillion-naira stimulus package. We have made extensive provisions for financial support to MSMEs, ranging from a Guaranteed Offtake Scheme to a survival fund that includes a payroll support programme for qualifying businesses. The Guaranteed Offtake Scheme (GOS) seeks to provide support for MSMEs manufacturing local products by guaranteeing the purchase from them of qualifying products such as face masks, hand sanitizers, and PPEs for essential medical workers.




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The official YouTube Channel for Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, Nigerian Lawyer and Politician who served as the Vice President of Nigeria from the 29th of May 2015 to the 29th of May 2023. Before this, he served as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.

With a background in law and governance, he currently chairs the Climate Action Platform for Africa and serves as a Global Advisor for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. He's also the Guardian of the Timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation and Chair of Future Perspectives.

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