If there is anything that governor Ugwuanyi promised the people of the state at his entrance to the Lion Building that is worth re-harping, it is to teach the people how to be fishers of resources rather than being handed fishes at intermittent times. For one, any reasonable government would often weigh the cost of providing fishes to the people and creating enabling environment where the people could go fishing on their own without necessarily back-bending on government to put food on their tables. Government has always had to grovel under the wait of humongous wage bill posed by the ubiquitous public sector services. The challenge of the private sector services therefore presents another enormous mountain to level in order to permeate positive government impact on the people. Interestingly, governor Ugwuanyi has kept to this service compact with the people six years down the road. Having come to the realization that government no matter how innovative it could be would never ever be able to provide everything to the people. Ugwuanyi therefore swiftly set ball in motion to revitalize the Enugu Small Medium Enterprises Agency with a core mandate to articulate and fashion many means to teach the people how to be self reliant through the establishment of a business of their own.
He sought for and engaged a vibrant rock solid young technocrat, Hon. Arinze Chilo-Offiah to oversee the Agency’s journey to ensure that a large percentage of Enugu citizens including students in tertiary institutions have every reason to look inward to themselves and become employers of Labour rather than become employees to other employers of labour. Today, it could not be gain-said that the results posted by the Hon. Arinze Chilo-Offiah led Enugu SME Centre in the area of mentoring would be Tech-preneurs, Digi-preneurs and other Enterprenuerial hopefuls has been quite intimidating and encouraging.
In a manner, reminiscent of the now comatose National Directorate of Employment (NDE) of General Ibrahim Babangida era when skills acquisition was revolutionized, Hon. Arinze Chilo-Offiah has been able replicate this trajectory of the NDE with his revolutions in the SME Agency. Today, the gospel of the SME is steadily being preached to all the nooks and crannies of the state with a massive buy in from the wide spectrum of individuals and groups. From the students in the tertiary institutions, school leavers and other citizens, the response to attain self reliance and contribute to the state’s GDP has been overwhelming.
The resultant effect is that there would be well springs of SMEs in so many towns in Enugu State. This will go a long way to addressing youth restiveness, crime and criminalities that has bedeviled our society for a long time.
Another gain of SME on wheels is that it will contribute massively to the GDP and ultimately increase the Internally Generated Revenue IGR of the state. It will also create value chains for businesses because one business’ finished good will be another business’ raw material. By extension, it will continue to attract government attention to provide social amenities and infrastructures in rural areas. It will also attract the presence of bigger markets, financial institutions and even better Medicare in those areas because it will lead to industrial clusters. The gain of Enugu SME on wheels is uncountable. What made developed nations what they are today are not holding companies and multinational companies, it is the number of SMEs existing in those countries.
If the drive, zeal and creativity of Enugu SME is sustained, Enugu will be SME industrial hub in Nigeria. What Enugu SME need to do now is to get into partnership with some banks that will give single digit interest loans, trainings and support to these small scale businesses that will emerge very soon in all nooks and crannies of Enugu State.
There is also a need for these emerging SMEs to form cooperative societies for better assistance and commercial value.
Kudos to the Enugu SME centre under the youthful Arinze Chilo-Offiah. We also remain grateful to the government of Gov ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for creating the enabling environment for uncommon developmental strategies in the state. Enugu State is in the hands of God.
Enugu SME Center- No. 2a, Market Garden Avenue Opposite Ebeano Tunnel, GRA, Enugu. Kindly contact on 08089344768; 08084998224; 09042439495; 09013484336; 07018098225 for all your inquiries. Www.enugusme.en.gov.ng; @enugusmeagency (twitter and Instagram) @Enugu State SME Agency on Facebook
Bibian Anekwe News added… “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
WRITTEN BY
Leonard Ugwu
POLITICAL ANALYST
MEDIA TEAM MEMBER: ENUGU DI N’AKACHUKWU MOVEMENT
