Gov. Bassey Otu (Second R) and the SMEDAN officials after the signing ceremony in Abuja.
By Anietie Akpan
Cross River State Government has signed a Matching Fund Collaboration of N1 billion with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The fund is for the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state.
The State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu on Wednesday made the commitment in Abuja when he hosted a delegation from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) led by Mr. Charles Odii, the Director General/ Chief Executive Officer.
The Governor maintained that his administration is committed to providing support for the growth and development of the new and existing MSMEs in the state through providing Enterprise Training, capacity building, business development support at the Cross River State Entrepreneurship Development Centre (CRSEDC) and access to affordable finance, monitoring and evaluation.
He disclosed that Cross River State Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency(MEDA) will be the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to act as implementing agency on behalf of she state government.
The Director General/ Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN Mr. Charles Odii in his remarks, said the collaboration with the federal agency aims at harnessing a pool of resources and strengthening entrepreneurial development services by linking entrepreneurial training with finance for the overall development of Nano, MSME in the state.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the Governor had Mr. Great Ogban Usetu, the Director General, Cross River State MEDA co-signed on behalf of the state, while the DG/CEO of the SMEDAN, Mr. Odii and the Legal Officer Mr Yusuf Salman respectively signed for SMEDEN.
