Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Executive Director Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Olusegun Awolowo, and Managing Director Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) Prof. Adesoji Adesugba are billed to speak at the 1st Abuja SME Conference and Exhibition.
This was contained in a press statement issued by the media officer of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Olayemi John-Mensah.
According to the statement, the conference is scheduled for 16th and 17th, August 16-17, this year.
It added that the event, “Is geared towards building the capacity of SMEs for Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and addresses internal hindrances working against SMEs existence in Nigeria. The issues for discussion and resolution include fast tracked implementation of new National MSME Policy, proposal for legal framework to harmonise SME taxation, harmonisation of regulatory permits and ease of access to governmental incentives to the SMEs.”
“The conference will also focus on creating a statutory annual platform for bringing together stakeholders and operators in the field of Small and Medium Enterprises to address the challenges of the sector.
“The federal government has introduced so many programmes and policies but the SME sector is still facing problems of access to funding, multiple taxation and lack of access to government incentives.
“The CBN governor Emefiele will deliver a keynote address on several efforts of the apex bank to energise the economy and particularly the SME sector. The minister, FMITI, Otunba Adebayo, will be speaking on the many initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to grow the SME sector.
Other keynote speakers include Mr. Awolowo whose agency has been implementing many successful interventions to groom the SMEs for the export market within the context of Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
“Also, to speak is the managing director, Nigeria Export Process Zone Authority on how the agency has been deploying backward integration to grow the SMEs sector through the free zones enterprises,” the statement read in part.
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