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By Agatha Emeadi
Young Nigerians aspiring to be entrepreneurs have been advised not to wait until there is a huge amount of money, but instead take the bold step of starting small while having their eyes on the big stage. The acting Director General of SMEDAN, Mr. Wale Fasanya, handed down this advice while presenting a lecture on Funding Models for SMEs in Nigeria during the occasion of the 70th birthday of Mr. Duro Kuteyi, the Managing Director of Spectra Industries Limited.
Fasanya, while admitting that funding is one of the most critical challenges of SMEs, however, reiterated the commitment of SMEDAN to genuine SMEs who have exceptional business ideas that have the potential to thrive.
“In SMEDAN, we will continue to push for the development of viable and sustainable funding models for MSME. This can only happen with strong partnership and alliance between government, donors and private sector”, he said.
He, however, noted that a good entrepreneur should not wait for external funding before pursuing entrepreneurial initiatives, stressing that the likes of Kuteyi, who started by just putting a pot on a burner to fry plantain chip, has ended up having a world class factory producing globally competitive brands that are today commanding both local and international patronage.
He described Kuteyi as a dogged entrepreneur who has been consequential in the entrepreneurial landscape of Nigeria, stressing that his contribution in terms of knowledge on food processing and manufacturing.
