The Director-General of Small and Medium Enterprises Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dikko Umaru Radda, said the contribution of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to employment in Nigeria rose by 3.7 percent.
Radda stated this while citing the 2020 MSME Survey jointly conducted by SMEDAN and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), at the launch of the report in Abuja yesterday.
He disclosed that the increase was recorded despite the significant drop in the total number of MSMEs which stood at 39,654,385 and consequently 3.5% decrease in their contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Dikko, however, attributed the decrease to open global competitiveness, the worsening case of insecurity in the country as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
He called for the creation of an enabling environment for MSMEs, especially funding, infrastructure, technology, and markets.
The Chief Executive Officer and Statistician-General of the Federation, NBS, Dr Simon Harry, said the survey was conducted in 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Harry said 400 households with micro-enterprises per state were surveyed and the SMEs were covered nationwide, cutting across 16 sectors of the economy.
“The results of the exercise indicate outstanding improvements in certain areas of operations and activities of MSMEs in Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, MSMEs contributed 46.31% of national GDP and also accounted for 6.21% of gross exports. Micro Enterprises (MEs) accounted for 96.9% of businesses and 87.9% of employment,” Harry stressed.
He, however, expressed disgust that despite their contributions to the Nigerian economy, it was still faced with challenges that impede the growth and development of the sector.
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