Strength of any nation hinges on SMEs devt, says Entrepreneurship Prof.

A professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Professor Olajumoke Familoni, has declared that Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) remain the lifeblood of any nation aiming to develop economically.

Professor Familoni, who is the Founder and Chairperson of ICLED Business School of Leadership and Entrepreneurship made the declaration during an entrepreneurial training for some business executives, mainly customers of a microfinance bank.

The training which was organised by ICLED Business School of Leadership and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with Accion Microfinance Bank was held in Magodo, Lagos.

She averred :”Small and Medium Enterprises are the lifeblood of any nation. They are the ones that supply labour force who hire millions of people not the multinationals. So, the strength of any nation is in the development if its micro businesses and SMEs that will provide jobs for the masses. America has invested so much in this sector that is why it has developed this much. Not so much for the multinationals”.

Speaking further, the University don also emphasized the importance of human capital development adding that, “Developing the human capital is important to any nation, having a knowledgeable workforce that will ensure that work is carried out well and produce great outcomes or products.

” Well trained personnel are vital for development of any nation. No wonder, Singapore invested heavily in development of human capital in technology to meet the current demands. We see where they are now. With a mediocre workforce the earnings is affected, because the foreign companies will bring their own workforce and cart away the money to their countries”.

The don who has been a manufacturer in the US for years urged Nigerians to embrace entrepreneurship and micro-businesses.

Speaking on the training, the Vice-chairperson,ICLED Business School of Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Mrs. Morenike Adeosun, said the essence of the training was to impart skills on the trainees so that they could run their businesses more effectively and attract the right customers.

The business executives were various aspects of business ranging from how to grow their businesses, attract customers,formulating business strategies, the real life situation and practical ways of running a business.

Various facilitators at the training were emphatic in their submissions that SMEs are ways to revamp the economy.

In his teaching,a facilitator , Mr.Nelson Oruh, urged the business executives to be up-to-date by scanning the environment.

He taught them how to expand their businesses and identify opportunities.

Adding that one of the most viable and resilient sectors of the Nigerian economy is SMEs.