The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on Saturday announced plans to train 100 entrepreneurs in Akwa Ibom on standard packaging.
Standard packaging refers to the best practice in the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use.
Its Director General, Dr Dikko Radda, disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Opportunity Fair in Uyo.
The theme of the fair is, “Harnessing Business Opportunities Beyond COVID-19 Drawbacks”
Radda, who was represented by Mr Wale Fasanya, the agency’s Director of Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, said that at the end of the training, beneficiaries would be able to make their products exportable because of proper packaging.
He added that the agency would offer free digital academy training to MSME as post-COVID-19 support.
The SMEDAN boss said that the fair would enable the entrepreneurs to showcase, market their products and exchange business ideas.
The director general explained that the agency would create a market hub application to provide a platform that would enable Nigerian entrepreneurs to interact with customers and suppliers of inputs to their businesses globally.
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sub-sector is a critical sub-sector in the Nigerian enterprise development space.
It accounts for a majority of the businesses in Nigeria and also accounts for the highest number of jobs created in the economy.
It is a business app built to capture all businesses in Nigeria, irrespective of the nature of the enterprise.
The App is a medium to foster great intersection between business to business, business and visitors to the app.
“It is a convergence point for Nigerians and business owners all over the world, who wish to establish links with potential customers,” he said.
The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Mr Ukpong Akpabio, thanked SMEDAN for providing the upcoming entrepreneurs in the state a platform to leverage and showcase their creativity to the public.
Ukpong said that the state government was very passionate about business development, adding that it would provide the enabling environment SMEs to thrive in the state.
An entrepreneur in the state, Mrs Gloria Udosen, commended SMEDAN for providing her the opportunity to promote her business brand.
Udosen appealed to the state government to provide financial support to small scale entrepreneurs for them to expand their businesses.
Another entrepreneur, Mr Emen Evans, also thanked agency for its support to small scale businesses.
Evans said that the COVID-19 pandemic had adversely affected the growth of businesses in the country.
