The Forum of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Business Membership Organizations of Nigeria, also known as MSME FORUM, is set to launch a programme termed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise
Cluster Development Scheme.
The scheme, EDS for short, is specifically designed to create a unique and committed platform for the development and structuring of registered MSMEs as well as profiling them to qualify for access to finance. Designed in the main to serve as a focused solution approach to the constant and unending access to finance problems, the Scheme will have a funding component that will be used as a Guarantee Fund for funding facility to cater for all categories of traders from the Nanos, to micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria.
It is projected that the EDS will generate over 10 million jobs. A pilot edition of the Scheme has been slated to take off in Kaduna. A team of the MSME FORUM comprising Joseph Attah, representatives of the Federal Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning, National Space Research and Development Agency (SMEDAN), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Fidelity Bank, was in Kaduna February 14th, 2023 at the behest of Mallam Nasir El Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State to seek collaboration for the pilot programme. Former Governor Nasir El Rufai was represented by Commissioner for Business Innovations and Technology, Professor Kabir Kato. Present also were the Permanent Secretary and some of the directors in the Ministry.
