BusinessDay... the voice of business: SMEDAN partners India on training NGOs

SMEDAN partners India on training NGOs
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 ISAAC AREGBESOLA on 04 May, 2008 02:00:00
 
Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in
conjunction with the International Centre for Entrepreneurship and career
Development, Ahmedabad, India has commenced Enterprise Development Service (EDS)
for 35 Non Governmental Organisations.
Ahmed Bichi, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry at the workshop noted
that the training will build and deepen their service delivery to micro and
small enterprises in Nigeria.
Bichi said the purpose of the training was to enhance promotion and
facilitation of rural entrepreneurship in order to generate employments and
reduce poverty as well as rural urban migration.
The minister, while describing the training as a very strategic capacity
development and train-the trainer programme, pointed out that the NGOs and the
community-based organisation would serve as agents for delivery of enterprise
development services to the grassroots so as to build critical mass of small
business trainers and operators.
While stressing that the task of developing the MSME sub-sector is not the sole
responsibility of government, Bichi noted that the private sector and civil
society organisations have great roles to play. The administration has promised
to continue partnership with genuine and serious organisation and avail them the
opportunity of empowering others for self employment. The minister also urged
the participants to take the training seriously and contribute their own quotas
toward the economic emancipation of Nigeria and charged the NGOs to think more
of what they can do for the people than what the government can do for them.
Modupe Adelaja, director general of SMEDAN said the essence of training the NGO
was that they are closer to the people and they would be able to have meaningful
impact in the rural areas on the growth of SMEs.
Represented by Olufemi Adebiyi, head, enterprise promotion of SMEDAN, Adelaja
said the new design was to empower SMEs through the NGOs and CBOs. He explained
that most of the ventures are developed through the people and the NGOs who have
what it took to help the rural dwellers. Hence, the need to train them in this
regard.
According to him, with the involvement of the NGOs, it would also be easier to
monitor the activities of the SMEs across the country.
Adelaja said the selection of the participants was thorough and that over 200
applications were received but only 35 of them were qualified to partake in the
training.
Inna Sha, Director of International training centre, India said the centre has
trained hundred of thousand of NGOs on SME development across the world. Sha
stressed that the centre focused more on development of people to create jobs.