NDDC earmarks N30bn to grow SMEs in 9 states

By Alaba Olusola Oke

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it has deposited N30 billion in the Bank of Industry to grow small and medium enterprises in the nine states in the region.

The Managing Director of NDDC, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, said this on Friday in Akure, during the sensitisation on the establishment of the Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA).

Ogbuku, represented by the Ondo State Representative in NDDC, Mr Otito Atikase, said that the money was the commission’s counterpart fund for disbursement to entrepreneurs, nano and other beneficiaries to grow their respective enterprises.

He said that the initiative would give loan to beneficiaries, who could not get loan from conventional financial institutions.

The NDDC boss also said that the gesture was borne out of sincere desire to find a lasting solution to the challenges plaguing businesses in the Niger Delta region.

He said that the initiative would help to ensure that development was brought to the people of the region through genuine processes of economically empowering them.

According to him, the initiative will capture as many as possible, people that showed interest, adding that NDCCITMA would stand in the gap between NDDC and entrepreneurs in the region in sustaining their businesses.

Ogbuku further said that the commission was committed to working closely with NDCCITMA to design a pathway of prosperity for the people that would complement ongoing projects: HOPE and IFAD.

He said that partnering with NDCCITMA would bring relief for the people of Niger Delta involved in entrepreneurship.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Projects in NDDC, Mr Victor Antai, said that the event was to raise awareness about the establishment of NDCCITMA and also explore the vast opportunities it represented across various economic sectors.

Antai, who was represented by Dr Godwin Nosiri, Director of Commercial and Industrial Development of NDDC, said that it was disheartening that nano and micro businesses were almost nonexistent.

He said that the initiative would stimulate economic growth from the grassroots level.

He encouraged business groups to embrace the development to advance their interests by seeking valuable counsel from the chambers.

The Chairman of NDCCITMA, Mr Idaere Ogan, said that the establishment of the chambers was consistent with major strategic development objectives of the region.

Represented by Chief Solomon Edebiri, the Secretary of NDCCITMA, Ogan said that the initiative represented the entire business sectors of the region that would steer development at the grassroots level.

He said that NDCCITMA had commenced serious networking with various groups in the region.

“Our mission is to invigorate trade and commence development right from the nano business level through micro, small and medium enterprises to the large organisation.

“We are poised to work with our development partners to solve the food problem of the region, enable manufacturing of goods, develop skills and build capacity.

“We are confident we can achieve all these through the establishment of institutional collaborations within and outside the region,” he said.

The state President of the National Association of Small Scale Industrialists, Mr Akintunde Greatsheyi, and the representative of Women Chamber of Commerce in the state, Mrs Adetutu Adejuyigbe, commended the initiative, saying that it would help to address the challenges confronting SMEs in the region.(NAN)