FG Collaborates With World Bank To Boost SMEs With BIG Platform

Okechukwu Enelamah

The Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank has introduced an initiative to help boost the development of
Small and Medium Enterprises, (SMEs) in Nigeria.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, made this disclosure on its website, saying the initiative tagged: Business, Innovation and Growth, (BIG) Platform seeks to grow SMEs in Nigeria, along the lines of sales, as well as provides employment opportunities for Nigerians.

“The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, (FMITI) with the support of the World Bank seek to grow small businesses in Nigeria. These businesses will be boosted along the lines of sales and employment, so that we can eventually grow our economy and reduce our dependence on crude oil.

“This initiative is called the Business, Innovation and Growth (BIG) Platform and it is operationalized in the Growth and Employment (GEM) Project.

“The FMITI and World Bank have identified five sectors that have high potential for growth in Nigeria; and these are the sectors that will be accessing the support the BIG Platform will be offering.

The sectors include- Construction, Entertainment, Hospitality, Information and Communication Technology, ICT and Light Manufacturing (Including Agro processing).

“The participating businesses will receive support in the following ways: Free Technical Assistance: Including training and consulting services and possibly; Grants: Available in 5 categories: Equity, Matching, Performance, Institutional, Innovative,” the statement reads.

To access the platform, the statement added: “The steps to accessing this support is: Log on to the BIG Platform (www.bigportal.org.ng), create an account and register your business, Attend an induction workshop and Access the various services available on the BIG Platform.

“We welcome existing Nigerian businesses operating within the aforementioned sectors to register their business on the BIG Platform to benefit from this project.”