President Bola Tinubu-led administration has disclosed its commitment to securing alternative power sources, (Solar Power energy), for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs. Mr. Johnson said this initiative is aimed at sustaining these businesses, due to the unstable power supply in the country.
He added that the administration is working effortlessly to provide reliable power alternatives, to MSMEs, due to the pivotal role they play in the nation’s economy.
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In his words,
“I am aware that we are in deep discussions with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to ensure solar power access for MSMEs across many markets, so, what we are doing is when you have a market that has a cluster of small businesses maybe a thousand or thereabouts, we are trying to power those markets to ensure that these MSMEs some into their business daily and have a guaranteed 8-hours of light.?I am aware that before the second?quarter of 2024, this will be ramped up significantly.”?
Highlighting the importance of providing solar power energy, he emphasized that it presents a viable solution for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) owners. He further stressed the importance of this initiative by disclosing the daily expenses incurred by small and medium-sized business owners in running generators for power supply.
In a 2021 survey for a study titled “Electricity outages and its effect on small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria,” 110 business owners were asked about their most reliable source of power. Out of 110 business owners, 70.9% (78) rely on generators to run their businesses, while 22.7% (25) depend on electricity, and 6.3% (7) did not respond.
It is a known fact that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in Nigeria’s economic growth, employment, and poverty alleviation, as they contribute 48% to the national GDP, cover 96% of all types of businesses, and provide 84% of employment.
While these businesses are referred to as the backbone of the economy, creating more jobs than large businesses, their operations have been greatly affected by the epileptic power supply in the country, which has continued to take a negative toll on Nigeria’s economy, thereby impeding growth.
It is worth noting that power supply is the major driving force for all businesses in today’s competitive world. It is therefore important that access to stable power supply is essential for the success of any business which in turn leads to consumer satisfaction, high productivity, profitability, employment, and overall economic growth.
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