L-R: Principal Consultant/CEO, Doctor Fish Agric Consult, Israel Yusuf; Project Finance/Account Manager, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University Obianuju Okafor; Head Alumni, Relations and Support Services, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University Dr. Nnenna Ugwu; and Country Director, AGRA, Dr. Rufus Idris.
By Zika Bobby
The Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of Pan-Atlantic University and the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) have partnered to create a platform for agricultural small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to connect with key stakeholders in the sector. The initiative, titled: “Funding the Future: Powering Nigeria’s Agric-SMEs,” aims to provide SMEs with strategies to fund, grow, and scale their businesses.
The Lagos event brought together agric business stakeholders from across the country, featuring insightful panel discussions, funding opportunities, and success stories from industry leaders.
The two-day session provided an opportunity for SMEs to network with financial institutions, business development service providers, and government officials, empowering them to take their businesses to the next level.
Reaffirming the EDC commitment towards supporting SMEs in the country, Head of Alumni Relations and Support Services at EDC, Dr. Nnenna Ugwu, stressed that the Centre is committed to helping agric-SMEs in the country to find funders, grow, and scale in a manner that is required and attainable in other countries.
Speaking about the partnership with AGRA, a sustainably growing African Food System, Dr. Ugwu said, “EDC is an umbrella body that commits in totality its life in building, hand-holding, and training entrepreneurs and small businesses. We train them, we hand-hold them, we try to create an environment for them to thrive; therefore, we are committed to doing everything for SMEs.”
The Country Director for AGRA, Dr Rufus Idris, said they are here to see how to strengthen the ecosystem of Business Development Service Providers (BDSP), and also strengthen service provision to Agric SMEs. “We’re trying to see how that space can work better for us, ensuring that there’s a strong connection between the SMEs that are trying to grow, expand, stabilize, or sustain their operations, and linking that to getting the right kind of support from the business support services providers,” he said.
One of the participants at the programme, Principal Consultant/CEO at Doctor Fish Agric Consult, Israel Yusuf, thanked EDC for the opportunity provided for those in the ecosystem to thrive.
“I want to appreciate EDC for what they are doing. This is a timely intervention, bringing together the different actors in the value chain to have a conversation on the challenges with a focus on solutions. EDC is an enterprise-driven organisation, an enterprise-focused organisation that believes that every challenge has a solution.”
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