FG To Establish Industrial Centres To Stimulate MSMEs

The federal government is set to establish Industrial Development Centres (IDCs) to enhance global competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.This is even as the federal government noted that this centres will serve as common infrastructure facility centre, which will in turn ensure sustainable growth of MSMEs via result oriented efforts.A statement issued yesterday in Abuja, signed by the minister of state for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, said an agency in the ministry, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has already received financing from the African Development Banks Medium Income Country Technical Assistance Fund (MICTAF) to carry out a study on the viability of developing and transforming the existing 23 industrial development centres in the country into industrial clusters.Hajiya Abubakar explained that implementation of the project will begin with the transformation of six of the IDCs as case study for MSME growth and innovation. The ministry, she said, plans to scale up the project to include the remaining 17 of the 23 IDCs by 2018.The statement also announced that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the establishment of the Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council known as the Industrial Council, to assist the government in formulating policies and strategies that will enhance the nations industrialisation goals.Made up of prominent industrialists across various segments, key stakeholders of industry and representative of relevant ministries and agencies, the advisory council is vested with mandates that significantly impact industry.The minister said, among others, the council will act as a liaison between industrial sector performance, trends and issues within the industrial sector, with a view to proposing interventions to enable investment and competitiveness.Meanwhile, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar has spoken of the three core pillars and five foundational enablers as the major strategic programms and conditions necessary for the realisation of the industrialisation plans of the ministry.
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