Over 5,350 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and local entrepreneurs across Cross River have benefited from direct cash grants, capacity-building and strategic empowerment initiatives driven by the Cross River Micro Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA) in collaboration with the Manufacturing and MSME Directorate of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).
Speaking at the Manufacturing and MSME Town Hall meeting in Calabar, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of MEDA, Mr. Great Ogban, said the interventions were deliberately spread across the three senatorial districts to stimulate grassroots economic growth and ease the cost of doing business.
Ogban, who also serves as Chairman of the Directorate of Manufacturing and MSME Sector Mobilisation in the state, listed milestones achieved through MEDA and partner agencies, including low-interest facilities, single-digit loans, N50,000 grants and a N200 million MSME intervention fund.
He commended the governor, Prince Bassey Otu, for sponsoring 1,000 free Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) business registration slots to help local entrepreneurs formalise their enterprises.
Corroborating the achievements, the Minister of State for Industry and Head of the Manufacturing and MSME Directorate, Senator John Owan Enoh, said small businesses form the backbone of Nigeria’s economic revival, accounting for nearly 96 per cent of businesses, 40 per cent of national GDP and 87 per cent of employment.
He said over 2,000 residents across the 18 local government areas are currently benefiting from federal grant programmes, NITDA mentorship and digital business development schemes.
Owan Enoh unveiled a comprehensive document compiled by the Manufacturing and MSME Directorate detailing key achievements under President Tinubu, while announcing upcoming federal projects for Cross River, including an Electric Bicycle Assembly Plant, a 75-acre automotive hub and National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) training facilities.
Both leaders called for sustained synergy between state and federal authorities and urged entrepreneurs and stakeholders to support continuity of governance to consolidate gains recorded in the MSME sector.
Also in attendance were the Special Adviser to the President on Youth, Business and Investment, Dr. Titilope Gbadamosi; Managing Director of NEXIM Bank, Mr. Abba Bello; Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Dr. Charles Odii; and other dignitaries and top government functionaries.