Stakeholders in the small scale enterprises has called on Nigerians to develop entrepreneurial mindset and adopt the use of technology to promote small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs).
They gave the advice at a business summit organised by the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) on Tuesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit had the support of the Sustainable Economic Development at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a German Development Agency.
Mrs Betty Torkwase, a diplomat, said that a large number of MSMEs had been reluctant to adopt relevant technological tools, making it difficult for them to upscale their businesses.
Torkwase, who spoke as a panelist at the technical session, stressed that lack of awareness of the inherent benefits had continued to make small business owners to loss in production and revenue.
“For instance, some of them feel that getting the solar system is expensive for them, they do not know that it is a return on investment.
“There is no nation that can develop without technology, as such, we need to do more research on what we can produce ourselves and even sell to other countries.
“It is also important for Nigerians to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, let them have this Nigeria of their dreams.
“For us to become an industrial nation, we also need to work closely with the academia, let them go on research and produce technological tools that we can use in our country.
“This will help us open up employment, productivity and help us export our products,” she said.
Also speaking, Prof. Jonathan Aremu, a lecturer with the Covenant University and a speaker at the event, called on small scale entrepreneurs to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to grow their businesses.
He spoke on the topic: “The Future of Small-Scale Industries in Nigeria: Opportunities in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He said that the country would benefit a lot from the AfCFTA, as it would create a web of positive interaction and interdependency that could build trust, raise the opportunity cost of war and hence reduce the risk of conflicts, among others.
He added that this would develop a culture of cooperation among common grounds, particularly on investment across member countries, including Nigeria.
He, however, noted that the future of small scale industries in the implementation of AfCFTA in Nigeria would depend on how they appropriately repositioned.
NAN reports that the summit had various MSMEs from different states that displayed their products. (Www.nannews.ng)