An economist, Dr Muda Yusuf, has advised the Federal Government to leverage on economic opportunities provided by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to address unemployment in the country.
Yusuf, who is the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) gave the advice at a workshop organised by the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria, on Sunday in Abeokuta, Ogun.
The immediate past director general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spoke on the topic, ‘’The Role of SMEs in Tackling Unemployment in Nigeria’’.
According to him, the topic is apt and underlines the critical role of small and medium enterprises in the country’s quest for job creation.
‘’The MSMEs are the pillars and life wire of the Nigerian economy; they are the major sources of the resilience that the economy had demonstrated since the shocks of the COVID – 19 pandemic.
“According to the National Bureau of Statistics, unemployment rate in Nigeria for 2018 was 33.3 per cent; underemployment was 22.8 per cent; youth unemployment was 42.5 per cent and youth underemployment was 21 per cent.
‘Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are potent tools for tackling unemployment in Nigeria,” he said.
Yusuf who described the statistics as “very disturbing”, said there was need for job creation, given the country’s population of over 200 million, in which over 60 per cent are youths.
‘’There is a correlation between unemployment and poverty; unemployment and crime rate; unemployment and insecurity.
‘’Some of the adverse social consequences of unemployment are already manifesting in our various communities, ‘’ Yusuf said.
He said the role of MSMEs in development of any nation’s economy could not be overemphasized.
He said: ‘’They promote competitiveness and entrepreneurship across sectors and the entire economy as they enhance efficiency, innovation and aggregate productivity growth.
‘’They contribute a lot more to job creation more than large enterprises; they are largely more labour intensive and contribute enormously to poverty reduction.
‘’MSMEs promote entrepreneurial development and accelerate the use of local law materials, thus deepening backward integration.
‘’They are instrumental to the mobilisation and utilisation of small savings for investments. Some of these funds tend to exist outside the banking system. Such initiatives boost job creation.” (NAN)
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