Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has re-echoed why the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment of the economy must not be neglected.

In a lead presentation at Trade Lenda SMEs Fair today in Lagos, Chief Obasanjo said SMEs form the ne of every thriving nation.

“SMEs must be seen as the base of industrialization. In different climes, you have small businesses develop components of a product; let’s say, a computer. One business produces the motherboard, the other develops the chips and you have another one that builds the casings. When these are assembled, they are shipped to different countries. That is how SMEs help a nation to grow, create jobs and that way we ensure skills acquisition.

The former President of Nigeria who championed local content development especially in the ICT sector, added that this model can be replicated in the nation’s economy for value addition.

“This entails we will be building a new generation of farmers. We will ensure food security and     

Earlier, Adeshina Adewumi, the convener of Trade Lenda SMEs Fair said that supporting the segment of the economy is the only way to create job.

It is high time we walked the talk. A whole lot has been said at different fora, but this is the defining moment for businesses.

“Trade Lenda SMEs Fair is not just focused on exhibitors, wholesalers and retails alone, we want the leaders gathered here to share their wealth of experience to trigger more creativity, innovation and interests in our entrepreneurs. This is designed as a huge learning experience through the masterclasses. As part of the event, SMEs were provided opportunity to pitch their business to investors and cumulative N5,000,000 cash prizes were disbursed.

Trade Lenda SME Fair 2023 in lenses: