The National Secretary, Ogwashi-Uku Development Association, (ODA) Mr. Sunny Elue Adigwe, a retired microfinance banker, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for extending dividends of democracy to Aniocha South Local Government Area as they had in the past been overtly neglected in all Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) programs.
The National Secretary flanked by ODAs’ first Vice president, Mr. John Nwaekete and other members of the executives, made this statements at the Ogwashi-Uku community town hall during a training and routine empowerment program organized by SMEDAN.
He said: “I want to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our President, for looking to the plight of the people and acting accordingly.”
“I want to assure the presidency and the SMEDAN authorities that we would utilize the resources given to us such that it would also benefit other people.
“We thank the staff of SMEDAN, we thank the DG, Mr. Charles Odii, who has lectured us, who has shown great enthusiasm and we hope he grows higher because he has the strength.”
Earlier Speaking, DG SMEDAN, Mr. Charles Odii hinted that this time the government is using a different approach to rid the system of corruption and to also not just give out money, but as a means of fostering productivity, engage the beneficiaries through training and retraining, analyzing feedbacks and recommending a way through challenges as the beneficiaries progress.
He said, “what we are doing is the beginning of many more things to come routinely as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has graciously approved the sum of N50bn for nano businesses.”
“Nano businesses are businesses of less than three employees with an annual turn over of N3m”
“At the designed pace of this program, we expect to raise countless millionaires in a year.
“What we give to you today could be likened to a Bible for your business, its called Business Model Canvas.”
He itemised key partners, key activities, unique selling point, formal relationships, customer segment, key resources, channels, structures, as integral beams for Nano business to stay afloat.
In Asaba, the SMEDAN boss addressed a gathering of beneficiaries from Delta North, saying the grant was for one million beneficiaries who had gone through online registration process.
He pointed out that he had so far been in 14 states to interface with the beneficiaries, with the hope of visiting the remaining 22 and the FCT before the end of the year.
He said he was in Asaba to speak with small business owners, mostly youths, who had been selected to benefit from the grant of N50,000 each.
He emphasized that the grants were not meant for members of any particular political party and should not be politicized, expressing displeasure with the alleged lopsided selection of beneficiaries in Delta.
He said: “I am being told that in Delta State a lot of benefits earmarked for small businesses, are only going to one political party.
“That is very wrong, poverty does not know one political party, poverty does not know sex, poverty does not know age. A hungry man is an angry man”, warning that hunger leads to anger which in turn leads to violence.
According to him, “one of the things we are doing, a long term solution is to help to improve the capacity of our young people. The short term solution is to give the grants like we are doing right now.
“My appeal to everyone in government is to cooperate so that we can get the benefits for all our small and medium enterprises across the country because when a small business grows, a family grows.
Mr Odii called on the state government to partner with the agency in building the capacity of small business owners, whom he categorized as employing less than three staff, with an annual turnover of less than N3 million.
He said in the long run the beneficiaries would be introduced to the banks, explaining that “there can never be access without capacity and that is why we are here to build the capacity of our small businesses so that they can unlock access to credit facilities”.
