From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos
The Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, NASME has tasked its members to embrace locally made technologies in the country.
Speaking during an industrial tour to the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, FIRO, NASME Lagos State chairman, Ladi Jemi- Alade lamented that SMEs are spending fortunes importing machines that are local available in the country.
He said the nation’s economy can grow faster with the use of local fabricated industrial machines.
“We are here to see machines which instead of buying from china, our members can buy from FIRO; Most of the equipments imported to Nigeria can be fabricated locally.”
He noted that uses of locally fabricated machines would reduce the rate of unemployment in the country.
“If you buy equipment from china, when the equipment has fault, you go back to china to bring experts to repair it, therefore creating jobs for them in China, but if you do it locally when it’s bad you get someone from here to fix it, you will engage our unemployed youths and save cost,” Alade added.
FIRO DG, Dr Gloria Elemo in her response said most of the technologies at the institute are targeted at the SMEs sector of the country.
Elemo who was represented by a Director, Dr Patrick Irabor describes SMEs as the engine block of economy development of the Nation.
She expressed the institute readiness to partner with SME operators, to boast the nation’s growth.
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