SMEDAN Seeks Review of MoU with NYSC to Boost Corps Members’ Empowerment
Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has stressed the need to review the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between it and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), to further enhance the empowerment of corps members with business skills and relevant tools.
SMEDAN Director General, Dr. Charles Odii, underscored the need for the review when he paid a courtesy visit to the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, in his office in Abuja.
A press statement issued by the NYSC and signed by its Director, Information and Public Relations (DIPR), Mrs. Caroline Embu, the SMEDAN chief executive also disclosed that the agency currently supports over 39 million small businesses across Nigeria, and called for the creation of an NYSC Community Development Service (CDS) group dedicated to increasing public awareness of its programmes.
Odii described SMEDAN as the federal government’s apex institution for the development of small businesses, with responsibilities spanning job creation, poverty reduction and industrial growth, adding that the NYSC remains a strategic partner in achieving these objectives.
“Right from the Orientation Camp, we want corps members to become business development service providers.
“SMEDAN is also ready to train NYSC officials on skills that can make them business owners in retirement,” he said.
In his remarks, the NYSC Director General, Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu described the partnership between the NYSC and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), as strategic.
Nafiu stated that the partnership had created businesses by corps members that are contributing to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Nafiu described SMEDAN as a critical stakeholder in its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, which has trained and empowered thousands of corps members to set up thriving businesses across the country.
The scheme, he noted, has pursued policies and programmes that promoted national unity, integration and socio-economic development.
“SMEDAN is a key partner of NYSC because it has helped in birthing corps businesses that are contributing to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), thereby boosting the national economy,” he said.
The NYSC DG commended the agency for its impact across various value chains, particularly in entrepreneurship advocacy, financial literacy, skills acquisition training and facilitation of access to funding.
He added that NYSC would continue to prioritise the SAED programme and strengthen linkages with relevant funding institutions to ensure corps entrepreneurs had better access to loans and grants.
Nafiu used the opportunity to reaffirm the scheme’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with SMEDAN.
