Nigeria prepares for Third Industrial Development decade for Africa
The United Nations Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III) reaffirms the importance of industrialization in supporting Africa's own efforts towards sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and accelerated development.
Den vellykkede implementering av initiativet er av største betydning for at opnå bæredygtig udvikling, fred og sikkerhed i Afrika.
The UN has called on the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to develop, operationalize and lead the implementation of the program for IDDA III. UNIDO is invited to foster partnerships and to build joint initiatives in favor of industrialization.
In response to this call, UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Nigeria has initiated a programme, in partnership with government institutions and private sector counterparts, which will upgrade the financial literacy of Nigerian entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), women and youth.
In recent weeks, the UNIDO ITPO Nigeria has held a number of workshops on the use of UNIDO tools and methodologies for the preparation and appraisal of investment projects, both with private sector organizations and governmental agencies. The aim of these workshops is to help Nigeria prepare for the IDDA3 at a grassroots level.
Five workshops were organized across Nigeria – one in Lagos in partnership with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture; one in Kano in partnership with the Kano State Government and the Office of the Special Advisor to the President on Youth and Student Affairs; and three in Abuja in partnership with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission and the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, among others.
Governments, financial institutions and entrepreneurs require properly prepared feasibility studies in order to make sound investment decisions. From the perspective of entrepreneurs, the most important factor is that they are “bank-ready.” Many Nigerian start-ups do not survive because they cannot cope with the financial aspects of business.
The problem of financial literacy affects a range of actors, starting with university graduates who cannot find jobs, to existing MSMEs, which cannot find the resources to grow.
These five workshops were the first stage in the creation of several centres of excellence within financial institutions in Nigeria. Through these centres, MSMEs will be provided training in project formulation and appraisal with the application of UNIDO’s COMFAR Lite software to introduce the latest international accounting standards.
They will also offer interactive e-learning packages and coaching activities to improve their “bank-readiness” capabilities to formulate and effectively communicate their business ideas.
