The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has stated the willingness of his administration to partner the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises.
The governor stated this on Monday while receiving the President, Council of NSE, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, at the Government House, Umuahia, where he enumerated the efforts of his government towards the promotion and development of SMEs.
He noted that his government identified and made SME a pillar of development in Abia and ensured that artisans were assisted and sponsored overseas for training on automated shoe-making as parts of efforts to make them globally competitive.
He assured that the same gesture would soon be extended to the garment and fashion industry.
While highlighting the issues confronting SMEs in Abia, such as power supply, automation, market share and finance, Ikpeazu assured said efforts were ongoing to tackle them and commended leather and garment manufacturers for showing resilience in their work.
