Sage canvasses support for locally made products

The Regional Director for Sage in West Africa, Magnus Nmonwu has insisted that a strong government push to encourage Nigerians to support locally made goods and services will help encourage entrepreneurship.

He said, Made-in-Nigeria resonates with the theme of this year’s Africa Day “Building a better Africa and a better world”. He further noted that local service providers and manufacturers could play an important role in the revival of Nigeria’s economy.

According to him, Made in Nigeria products will help spur diversification of the economy, create local jobs, and decrease unemployment. “We welcome the effort to encourage industrialisation and diversify the economy from commodities into new areas. Strong local demand is the foundation of a manufacturing sector that can grow into an export industry.

“However, it is imperative for the public sector to do more to encourage the growth of small businesses in Nigeria, including tax incentives for local producers, support in accessing finance, and facilitating mentoring and skills development programmes between small business and bigger companies.

“Government should also encourage small businesses to adopt business software so that they can improve regulatory compliance and financial controls. This could also help in tracking the performance of those that benefit from state loans and incentives, and hold them accountable.

“Infrastructure investment across roads, power, communications and ports are also important in spurring development of local industry. “There is enormous scope for government and the private sector to cooperate on creating polices and infrastructure that create an enabling environment for Nigeria’s business builders”, he added.