FG to streamline SMEs intervention policies

Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s vice president, said on Saturday that the government will streamline intervention policies for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for more people to benefit.

Osinbajo gave the assurance at the third annual Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Forum in Lagos. He said that the government would continue to embrace policies that would encourage start-ups to thrive.

He commended Tony Elumelu, the Founder of TEF, for the initiative, which he noted had been result-oriented.

Speaking on ‘Tyranny of the Past or History’, Osinbajo called on Africans to stop remembering the past with apprehension.

He said that dwelling on the past could cripple ones hope and vision.

According to Osinbajo, African countries are nearly defeating hunger and famine with new farming tools, discovering cure for diseases and eradicating most causes of infant mortality.

He called on the TEF participants to take advantage of the initiative for the growth and development of their countries instead of relying on the past.

“The great days have come, everyone that has succeeded has his or her own failures,” Osinbajo said. Earlier, A Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, identified infrastructure gap, corruption, policy inconsistency, low inter-trade rate and scarcity of finance as some challenges of entrepreneurship development in Africa.

Dangote said that a resilient investor would overcome the challenges, adding that to survive, SMEs should avoid waste, build strong teams, and ensure cost efficiency.

Dangote said that Africa’s potential was enormous, and that he is optimistic that the continent will experience a boom with enhanced agriculture.

Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, Zamfara State governor, said that public and private sectors should work together for industries to survive.

He urged that Africa should do away with corruption and policy inconsistency to advance.

Kastina State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, said that African leaders must ensure formulation of policies with the private sector for the survival of the continent.

Masari said that proper education was paramount for entrepreneurs to succeed, adding that basic education was important for the growth of any business. He urged access to loans by SMEs at lower interest rates.

Oba Otudeko, chairman, Honeywell Plc, said that government and private sectors’ cooperation was important for Africa’s development. He noted that entrepreneurship is not easy, and urged entrepreneurs to conceive unique ideas to succeed.

“Empires of the future are empires of the mind,” Otudeko said, adding that African leaders should implement policies that would improve logistics and intra-African communications.