VP Osinbajo Attends Virtual Launch Of “Eko MSME Fashion Hub”, MSME Shared Facility In Lagos On 18/09/2020

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE COMMISSIONING OF THE FASHION CLUSTER SHARED FACILITY FOR MSMES IN LAGOS STATE, ON THE 18TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2020.

PROTOCOLS

I am very pleased to join you today for this commissioning and handing-over ceremony of yet another Shared Facility for MSMEs, the Eko MSME Fashion Hub 1, in Lagos State.

Let me begin by delivering a message from President Muhammadu Buhari, who sends his very warm regards and congratulations to the Government of Lagos State.

The President has also asked me to urge more states to emulate this collaboration between the Federal and State Governments, and the private sector for the benefit of our people.

The Eko MSME Fashion Hub 1 being commissioned today which is strategically located by the old Alade market, just off the Allen Avenue roundabout, one of the leading commercial hubs on the continent, is equipped with first class machines and equipment.  And I’m told that it will service 380 MSMEs daily, and 136,800 every year. The choice of Alade Market and the general Allen Avenue area was unanimous arising from extensive consultations between the Federal Government’s MSME Clinics project, the Lagos State Government and the fashion cluster in Lagos.

With the launch of the Eko MSME Fashion Hub 1, MSMEs in and around Ikeja will no longer have to travel far to use equipment that is expensive for individual businesses to procure by themselves, such as those for making button-holes or monogramming and other such specialized tailoring activities.

With its full-scale production line, this Hub will enable production of a diverse range of clothing and garments: wedding dresses, military uniforms, office wear, and similar products. Very soon, the products of the Hub will be ubiquitous on the streets and in stores around the country. The Fashion industry will be one of Nigeria’s biggest sources of revenues, and I can assure you, much bigger than the oil that you see today.

The Shared Facility Scheme which we are launching today, and this particular one is for Lagos, but we have a whole scheme that covers a wide range of shared facilities of various kinds. But this one, the Fashion Hub is the latest example, and it seeks to provide high-quality operating equipment which small businesses can access at a reasonable cost, within a conducive space.

The Facilities help reduce operating costs for users, allowing them to invest their savings in expanding their businesses and hiring more staff. A few months ago, I had the privilege of presiding over the launch of a similar Shared Facility for yam farmers in Benue State.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, this year 2020 hasbeen a difficult one for the entire world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, of course, it has been a very difficult one for Nigerian businesses as well. Businesses, small and large have been significantly impacted by the disruptions.

As you all know, MSMEs are the engine of the Nigerian economy; when they thrive the economy thrives, when they struggle, the economy struggles. This is why the Federal government is deeply committed to ensuring that we incrementally create the best possible environment for MSMEs to do well.

The administration is doing this in various ways, from improving access to credit through the Central Bank, Development Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Industry, and others, several of our Development Banks or even our Commercial Banks, are being committed to ensuring access to capital for small businesses, and there are several initiatives that have also supported small businesses in various ways.

For example, our Finance Act has exempted businesses generating less than 25 million Naira in annual turnover from Companies Income Tax.  Those with a turnover of between N25m and N100m will only pay 20% corporate income tax instead of the 30% which was the former rate payable.

And then of course there’s the MSME Clinics initiative which is extending business support services to small businesses across the country, and of which this Shared Facility Scheme is a core component.

Most recently, President Buhari approved the implementation of a very important initiative known as the Survival Fund for the MSMEs sector. This is being implemented, am sure you heard the Honourable Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, who is the chair, talking about this fund. And this is part of the Economic Sustainability Plan put together to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

Under the Survival Fund is a Payroll Support Scheme, which will provide up to 50,000 Naira in monthly salaries for up to ten (10) staff of qualifying businesses, for a period of three months. The whole idea is to ensure MSMEs do not lay off their staff. And government’s way of ensuring that this doesn’t happen is by this payroll support scheme. Hundreds of thousands of MSMEs will benefit once they meet certain criteria which the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has already put out to the public.

There is also a N50,000 grant for 100,000 small and medium-scale businesses, while 333,000 self-employed persons working as artisans and transporters will benefit from a one-off grant of N30,000.

Moreover, the President has approved that the Federal Government bear the full cost of business name registration for 250,000 new businesses nationwide.

We are doing all these to support MSMEs across the country to maintain their staffing levels and keep their businesses afloat through these very challenging times.

And let me say that we are committed to incrementally improving on the support that we’re given businesses and MSMEs. The ESP is not the end of the process. As a matter of fact, it is to stimulate the process and the Federal Government is committed to ensuring that MSMEs survive in every way and will continue to look at new and creative ways of ensuring the support for the MSMEs sector.

Let me thank the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Honourable Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, who chairs this important committee on the survival fund, for their great dedication and commitment to the MSME Clinics, and to this project in particular.

I would also like to commend the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for his leadership, and the unflinching support he has given to this project. I also want to say to him that, I take up the challenge of establishing MSMEs  Shared Facility Schemes in all the Senatorial Districts of Lagos State, so long as we have a strong partnership of Lagos State, I believe that nothing is impossible. We must look at this as one way of ensuring that the commercial capital of Nigeria gets the best possible support for MSMEs.

I congratulate you, Mr Governor and the people of Lagos State on the successful completion, and on today’s commissioning.

I also commend and congratulate our MSME Clinic partners, and everyone that has worked to make this possible. These are early days still, we are all eagerly looking forward to the commissioning of similar facilities in Kaduna, Anambra and FCT before the end of the year.

I want to commend also, the Access Bank, for the very great support that they have continuously rendered to MSMEs all over the country especially their support for technology companies and Startups, I want to congratulate them and encourage all other commercial banks to join in this effort to provide as much support as its possible for this sector of our economy which is the engine of growth of our economy.

It is, therefore, my special pleasure to commission this Fashion Cluster Shared Facility for MSMEs, the Eko Fashion Hub 1, at Alade Market, Ikeja, Lagos State on this 18th day of September, 2020 to the glory of the Almighty God, and for the benefit of the people of Lagos State, especially workers in the fashion industry, and for the benefit of the entire country.

Thank you and God bless you all.