The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Monday said the administration of President Bola Tinubu has already taken bold steps to construct digital highways and bridges that would carry Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across borders into the heart of the African market.
According to him, while over 83 per cent of employment in Africa is in the informal economy, the continent was not short on ideas and digital innovation that offered an unprecedented window to compete with the rest of the world.
Shettima stated this in Abuja when he inaugurated the oversight committee recently approved by the President to organise Nigeria’s hosting of the 4th African Union (AU) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Forum, scheduled to hold between June 23 and 27 in Abuja.
Listing some of the administration’s policies and programmes in this direction, the Vice President recalled that Nigeria chaired and spearheaded the AfCFTA Negotiating Forum, and has aligned its investment, digital trade, and competition policies with the agreement.
He noted that it was for this reason that Nigeria also established a Technology Export and Digital Trade Desk to support the nation’s entrepreneurs in exporting services and digital goods across Africa.
This, Shettima said, the i-DICE Programme, a 617.7 million dollar investment in digital and creative enterprises, and the 3 Million Tech Talent Programme, was set out to achieve by training Nigerian youths in coding, data science, and digital fluency to power the nation’s transformation.
He conveyed the assurance of the President that Nigeria was ready to lead in shaping Africa’s digital trade future, even as the nation was harmonising its laws to make cross-border commerce seamless, secure, and scalable.
“We have reformed. We have invested. And we are resolved to see this transformation through. But none of us can achieve this in isolation. That is why this forum is not just important. It is indispensable. It provides the blueprint, the platform, and the partnerships that will empower African MSMEs to become the heartbeat of our economic renewal,” he said.
Earlier, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Ibrahim Hadejia, Chairman of the organising committee, said the forum would provide a veritable platform for exchanging knowledge and ideas on MSME development and facilitate collaboration across the continent.
He said the theme of the summit, which is on “building resilient MSMEs through digital innovation, market access and affordable financing for Africa”, aligned with the efforts of the Tinubu administration in supporting development and growth in the sector.
On his part, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, also a member of the organising committee, said hosting the 4th edition of the forum by Nigeria underscored growing confidence in Nigeria in the comity of nations.
The forum, he pointed out, reflected the efforts made by the administration of President Tinubu in providing a conducive environment for small businesses in the country.
In the same vein, the Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, also a committee member, commended the leadership of the President and his Vice for prioritising the well-being and growth of small businesses, in acknowledgement of their contributions to the GDP and economic transformation.
He assured that efforts would be put in place to ensure that Nigeria successfully hosts the forum, while small businesses in Nigeria leverage the platform to improve in areas of access to affordable finance and markets, among other benefits.
