REDUCING POVERTY
MICRO, SMALL, AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE (MSME) DEVELOPMENT AND LINKAGES Summary of
Outcomes:
NGN 3.59 billion/USD 8.75 million in funding accessed by 3,501 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) NGN 1.84 billion/USD 4.48 million in increased income reported by 1,732 MSMEs 3,231 new jobs were facilitated 614 enterprises were linked to large businesses
Businesses, especially micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), need a wide range of support to grow and meet buyer demand. However, in Nigeria's Niger Delta, enterprises could not access loans; lacked business, management, and technical skills; and had low linkages to business development services and large buyers. PIND's MSMEs Development and Linkages project was the solution created to help Niger Delta enterprises overcome these barriers while supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) 1 and 8 of “no poverty” and “ decent jobs and economic growth.” Our project accomplishes these goals by enabling MSMEs to increase their productivity and incomes and create new jobs. Through research, we understood that getting MSMEs access to funding, education, and linkages could have a ripple effect that would provide jobs, money, and food to the people of the Niger Delta. The project's primary goal is to stimulate a market that creates a dynamic and diversified set of strong local enterprises that can meet the demand created by large buyers operating in the region. Our project activities are driven by business service providers (BSPs), whose capacities we have strengthened. And that knowledge gets passed along to our MSMEs. Business service providers work with public and private stakeholders—from banks to corporations—to organize business linkages, host investment forums, facilitate access to funding, and open new market opportunities. These activities led to growth for enterprises, higher personal incomes, and 3,231 new jobs in 2021.
For our current operational phase (2020-2024) in this project, one of our focuses has been to improve the commercialization of the master BSPs scheme. Through this scheme, new business service providers are trained and mentored by master BSPs. To improve this in 2020, we supported master business service providers to organize training projects and share the value of building strategic alliances with new BSPs. In 2021, a conglomerate of master business service providers [CAD Consulting Limited, Dorbudee Consulting, Remok Consults Nigeria Limited, and the Ark Shore Konsult Nigeria Limited] organized a training session for new BSPs—a third of which were womenowned. The session covered: developing bankable business plans; managing client relationships; picking sound company tools; using business diagnostic tools, and facilitating access to market and finance. Later In the reporting year, these master BSPs strengthened their capacity to offer business services by delivering linkages support to new business service providers. As of 2021, 614 enterprises were linked to large businesses via our valued BSPs. Another of our 2021 focuses was to deepen the relationship between business service providers and financial institutions—like the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN's) Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS). The CBN's AGMEIS is an initiative to support the Federal Government of Nigeria's efforts toward promoting sustainable economic development and employment for MSMEs. Our BSPs trained and supported 3,501 Niger Delta in gaining access to NGN 3.59 billion/USD 8.75 million in funding via the CBN. This access to funding was achieved through
2021 ANNUAL REPORT
