We have seen different government activities in the area of SME support and entrepreneurship encouragement. Though these models varies from one state to the other and from that of the federal government. While we recommend our SME business model is because it considers factors that peculiar to the local manufacturer.
While we are borrowing technology and are faced with various cultural shocks as a result, local industries are suffering and little attention is being paid to this erosion. Our SME model rather look at development as a result of organic growth rather than mechanical. Though borrowed technology has some level of positive impact on the economy but losing focus of the traditional SMEs that have sustain the economy from inception would do more evil than good that borrowed technology has brought to us.
In the search for development and proper industrialization, the need to focus on local manufacturers would help contribute greatly to the achievement of that SME development we have clamored for. The idea is not to talk about which culture is better rather to understand where we were coming from and where we are going.
Our SME business model therefore consider the following:
- Our Traditional Industry –The traditional industries include the following; traditional soap and cream making, black-smiting, fishing, wood carving, weaving and dying, wood and calabash dying, farming, food processing, agro-allied, brewing and distilling, Glass and Beads, Pottery, traditional Canoe building and many more.
- Modern Industry – Modern industry are majorly owned by foreigners and majority of their product are imported. While we claimed that we are building modern industry, the majority of the finished goods are imported. While those that have springed-up in the country are owned by foreigners.
- Imported Technology Vs Local technology: Kindly note that while the historical indigenous industrialists were using local technology to manufacture, imported technology are not doing so well to improve local production of goods hence the reason for where we are. To make the matter worse, over 70% of local production of the industries capacity are owned by foreigners or are imported.
- Point of Convergence – We have seen several efforts being made by the government and reasonable impact on the economy. The need to double these impacts is very important so that we do not go back to where we were coming from. The government need to improve in their effort not just to support the local manufacturers via soft loans that usually put them into trouble or grants that make them lazy, rather the government should subsidize technology for these manufacturers.
We have seen good efforts in the right direction by the government through investment in technology researches, Technology Incubation Centre, University of Technologies and Polytechnics and many more. The need for government to change investment target from giving soft loan and grants to SMEs and subsidize the technology they need to improve.
Government should rather subsidize the technology by making it available for local manufacturers. Since local manufacturers depend on imported technology to survive and create employment, Investment in the importation and local fabrication of these technologies would contribute greatly to SME development in the country.
