As Katsina State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (KTS-MSMEs) Council Concludes Retreat

Oru Leonard

The Katsina State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (KTS-MSMEs) Council recently held a two-day retreat, which centred on discussions on varied issues around the MSMEs development,
existing programmes and how they affect MSMEs sub-sector development in Katsina State.

The retreat was held between November 22 and 23, 2021 with very fruitful outcomes as contained in a communique issued at the end the its deliberations and brainstorming sessions.

It also provided the platform to familiarize with, and subject to open review, the new National Policy on MSMEs and strategizes on ways to provide effective and efficient service delivery to grow the MSMEs sub-sector in Katsina State.

The state Deputy Governor, Qs Mannir Yakubu, who spoke on behalf of the state government, while declaring open the two-day workshop had explained that the workshop will focus on areas like dialogue with development partners, sourcing donor resources, planning and financial management, improving the knowledge of MSME council, as well as leveraging on the opportunity provide by the African Continental Free Trade Zone for MSME development.

The Deputy Governor Mannir Yakubu, who is also the Chairman of the Council, noted that the State government has achieved so much in the area of MSME development through collaboration with Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), private sector, other stakeholders.

He highlighted some of the achievement, which include, collaboration with Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), to organise training on tiger nut value chain for women in Katsina State, and Workshop on investment opportunities in some strategic crops, safe use of pesticides, and agro-chemicals to farmers.

Other achievement by the government include securing and the distribution of varieties of cashew and cotton seedlings and seeds to farmers in the state, support to the state steering Committee on Survival Fund and Support to the Federal Government efforts on ease of doing business.

Other achievements include collaboration with Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) on certification of some establishments by the state Government and SMEs in the construction industry.

This in addition to securing allocation of land and Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) for the permanent office complex for SON and that of Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment/NEPZA for the establishment of Funtua Integrated Textiles and Garment Parks, among other giant strides.

Earlier, the Katsina State Government had vowed to put more effort in the improvement Micro,
Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) across the state for efficient business management.

Issues And Considerations
After several brainstorming sessions, presentations and exhaustive deliberations on the ways to make the MSMEs Council more efficient and responsive to prevailing exigencies of the MSMEs sub-sector in the state, the retreat considered strategies that can hasten the growth and development of the MSMEs sector in the state.

It also considered presentation on the reviewed National Policy on MSMEs, which set the tone for the proceedings, leading to the formation of four syndicate groups, who eventually deliberated and made robust contributions on the ways to grow the Nano, Small and Medium Enterprises (NMSMEs) sub sector in Katsina State.

The retreat further discussed extensively the newly reviewed National Policy on MSME and implementable milestones in the state. Evaluation on the need for continuous training and capacity building programmes to re-position the BMOs for effective service delivery to their
members was also explored.

Other issues deliberated include myriads of challenges faced in the MSMEs development programmes in the state, and ways to make future implementations more impactful, by deepening participation and improving on the various programmes content.

Resolutions/Actions
In the context of the foregoing deliberations on the scenarios above, the retreat arrived at certain  resolutions which are being put forward.

According to the communique, all Agencies in the state responsible for training and capacity building should work in concert with BMOs to provide sector specific training for Entrepreneurs in the state.

Furthermore, it was resolved that training and capacity building for BMOs and other form of skills upgrade for members should be given priority attention going forward. The Training Needs Analysis is to be submitted by the BMOs to the MSME Council for consideration as a resolution.

In addition the retreat put forward the need to deepen stakeholder engagement through town hall meetings and mass media on available financial windows and regulatory matters for MSMEs in
the state.

Also resolved was need for Katsina MSMEs Council to emulate the National in terms of composition of the Technical Implementation Committee by adopting a co-chair from the private sector.

Research for Development is to be emphasized upon in the state by leveraging on the educational
institutions in the state while the Katsina MSMEs Council should Commission Needs assessment of Skills gap in the state and follow up with training provision of Business Development Services (BDS), to increase the capacities of NMSMEs operators as well as harmonise all the Skills Training Centres in the State.

Also included in its resolutions was the need for MSME Council to leverage on commercial and undertaking officers at the LGAs and Business Information Centres for provision of awareness and support for Nano MSMEs to fill the financial literacy gaps while various BMOs should appraise their financial state and the attendant gaps, and make report available to the council for possible considerations.

The MSME Council was advise to consider the establishment of border Market and export warehouse to facilitate exportation of Made in Katsina/ Nigeria product and that the completion of laudable projects embarked upon by the State Government that has direct bearing on MSMEs (including Common Facility Centre for MSMEs, formation of an SPV, Integrated Textile and Garment, Establishment of Power Sub stations and Water Supply, Special Agro Processing Zones (SAPZ) and others).

Finally, it was recommended that the harmonization of data on finance and beneficiaries of funding interventions in the state should be embarked upon as soon as possible.

The communique was signed by Qs. Mannir Yakubu, FNIQS, the Chairman KTS- MSMEs Council who also doubles as the State Deputy Governor and the Onesi Lawani of SMEDAN as the Lead
Facilitator.

In attendance were other stakeholders drawn from government agencies both at federal and state levels, as well as the corporate bodies.

They include the Permanent Secretary to the Office of the Deputy Governor, Permanent Secretary Katsina State Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Investment, Ministry of Women Affairs, DG Katsina State Investment Promotion Agency (KIPA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria(MAN), National Association of Small Scale Industrialist (NASSI), National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME),
Katsina Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries & Agriculture (KATCCIMA), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Katsina Branch.

Also in attendance were representatives of the Katsina Branch of Bank of Industry, the state branch of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), the State Chapter of the Bank Managers Forum (BMF), the National Agency for Food Drugs and Control (NAFDAC), and the Raw Material Research Development Council (RMRDC).
Other participants were drawn from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
(FCCPC), the National Association of Micro Finance Banks (NAMB), the Katsina Traders Association (KTA), and from the Women Economic Empowerment and Youth Development
Organisation (WEEYDO).

The communique was adopted by the aforementioned organisations on November 23, 2021.