Cross River State Government through its development agency, Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency, in collaboration with the Bank of Agriculture, has set aside N400m for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Speaking at the cheques presentation ceremony to beneficiaries of the scheme in Calabar, the state Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, who underscored the importance of MSME's in the economic development of any nation, disclosed that it provided the largest means of livelihood for self-employment in the state.
Imoke, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Efiok Cobham, contended that the sector also had the highest potential for employment creation and socio-economic development, saying the government had identified the sector as the engine through which its objectives of wealth creation could be achieve.
He said, "Let me use this opportunity to reiterate one of the objectives of this administration which has always been wealth creation through socio-economic development. To pursue this, we had set out to create access to services for Cross Riverians, encourage Public-Private Partnership and maintain a socio-economic environment for self-sustaining growth and investment."
He said despite the pivotal role the sector plays in the economic development of the state, the sector is still battling the challenge of insufficient capital, lack of proper business information, difficulty in accessing credit facility, high cost of finance and lack of skills in preparing business plans among its members.
"In recognition of the above, government set out to make MSME's more productive and rewarding by encouraging the adoption of best practice, developing a strong private sector driven economy," he added.
