SME as Panacea for Economic Development and an alternative Source of Income

The task of job creation and the eradication of unemployment must be tackled at all fronts. National Economic Growth and Development can only be achieved when new businesses become viable and thriving. The great Economic Revolution in the Asia peninsula was not achieved overnight through the establishment of gigantic industrial complexes and big corporations, but by the creation of Small and Medium Scale businesses on a mass scale, at every nook and cranny, and in every community.

While the government of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is going to town celebrating the level of Foreign Direct Investment into the country via the establishment of large scale industrial complexes in some states, (kudos to them by the way) it is critical to understand that Small Businesses birthed, incubated and nurtured into thriving enterprises is the sure bet to Economic Growth and Income Distribution. For one thing, jobs will be created, more direct impact will be made at the local economy and wealth will be more equally distributed. By the way, one has to analyse the nature of the $6.8 Billion FDI purported to have been received into the country in 2012 but I hope it is not hot money  that will develop wings at the press of a button! This is a topic for another day.

But imagine 1000 new cottage businesses created in each local government area, employing 10 people and making goods and services for both local consumption and for export even to neighboring countries. This will create over 3.5 million direct jobs not minding other indirect jobs created along the value chain. Local communities will begin to take comparative advantage of their peculiar endowments.(I recall that most of the packaged bananas on shelves in most Nigeria supermarkets are imported from the Republic of Cameroon! The same goes for ginger syrup among other products! Yet Nigeria has more arable land than Cameroon and with similar weather conditions). 

However, impediments to business creation are not the lack of Financial Capital but lack of ideas and information on markets opportunities. Government agencies in both local and state government levels should do more in bringing to fore, the opportunities that abound and markets that exists in different locations for local investors to key into. Investors can be in a paid employment but would want to build business enterprises either for retirement or as a secondary source of income. Most workers have the finances, time and the interest to develop businesses but not the information. Yours sincerely manages this blog as a ‘mid-night’ business taking one hour daily at the cool of the night. My job is therefore to avail you enough information to visualize any business, birth same and incubate it into profiting and income generation. As a business researcher, I shall not only introduce viable business ideas but avail you the information required to make well researched investment decisions, on the following:

• ·         Available business opportunity in your local community.
• ·         Sources of Raw material
• ·         Size of the market
• ·         How and where to sell your products and services to both local and foreign markets
• ·         Access to finance
• ·         Legal and Licensing matters (where applicable)
• ·         Machinery and Equipment sourcing and quotes
• ·         Technology

It does not matter if you are interested in short term investment or generation-next investment for your children, I shall undertake research studies, pre-feasibility studies and business plan development to suit you

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I therefore enjoin you to make frequent visit here for more.

Enjoy!