41.5m MSMEs Registered In 2017, Says NBS

'Dotun Akintomide
Writer

Ad

Sanae Takaichi Shatters Glass Ceiling, Becomes Japan’s First Female Prime Minister

By Abiola Olawale ​Sanae Takaichi officially made history on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, by being elected as Japan's first female prime minister following a parliamentary vote. Takaichi, an ultraconservative leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured the top post after a coalition deal with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party (Ishin no Kai). The 64-year-old…

PDP To Know Fate on Oct 31 as Court Delivers Judgment on National Convention

By Abiola Olawale The political landscape of Nigeria's main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), remains suspended in uncertainty as the Federal High Court in Abuja has set October 31 as the date for judgment in the contentious suit challenging the party’s planned national convention. ​The high-stakes ruling, which follows the conclusion of legal…

Brent Flirts With $60 as Oversupply Fears Deepen

Oil prices continued to inch lower in early Tuesday trading as concerns about oversupply and sagging demand resumed their grip on the market, even as trade-talks between the United States and China offered a glimmer of optimism. At the time of writing, WTI was down 0.52% at $57.22, while Brent had fallen 0.54% to $60.61.…

Ad

The Statistician-General of the Federation, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS),  Dr Yemi Kale said that 41.5 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were registered in 2017.
Kale made this known during the Public Presentation of the 2017 NBS-SMEDAN Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and National Survey of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs),  held in Lagos on Thursday.
He said that Lagos State had the highest number of enterprises across all classes,
while Kastina had 36.4 per cent, Rivers 21.7 per cent and Kaduna 18.1 per cent.
“The five major sector of the economy were wholesale/Retail trade representing 42.3 per cent,  Agriculture  20.9 per cent, other services 13.1 per cent, Manufacturing 9.0 per cent,  and Accommodation and  Food Services 5.7 per cent, together these account for about 91.0 per cent of all MSMEs.
“A total of 86.8 males were dominant in agriculture, while 86.8 female dominance was instead observed in accommodation and food services, 68.7 per cent recorded in manufacturing, 64.5 per cent on wholesale/retail trade.
“With regards to ownership status, Sole Partnership predominated at 97.1 per cent followed by partnerships of 2.2 per cent.”
He explained that MSMEs played significant roles as engine of socio-economic
transformation, including industrialisation of many economies globally.
Kale said that MSMEs presented a vital platform for boosting technical, technological and entrepreneurial capacities among critical segments of the populace.
He further said that MSMEs also offered opportunities to drive jobs and wealth creation as well as income re-distribution within the society.
He said that in Nigeria, MSMEs had performed below expectations due to a combination of problems which includes off-mentioned infrastructure deficit and frequent public policy changes and somersaults.
Kale said that there had been serious efforts by both the Federal and  State Governments to develop the MSMEs sub-sector.
He said that the efforts included  the adoption of the erstwhile National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) of a private sector-led economic development approach with MSMEs development as a central strategy in 2003.
In his keynote  addres, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry  Trade and Investment, Mr Edet Akpan said “it became public knowledge that
the total number of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country was
about 18 million. These also employed a total of 32 million persons as at December 2010.”
“On the heels of the national economy re-basing, the number of enterprise
surged at the next edition of the Survey in 2013,  with more than 37
million, with complementary employment contribution of 59
million persons.
“Such indices as the contribution of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises to GDP exports as well as their distribution across major
economic sectors and sub-national units also emerged, not forgetting
identification of challenges faced by the sub-sector.
“The 3rd edition of the Survey presented today, provides an update on
important indices on the sub-sector. Two chapters have been devoted to
data analyses to optimise the information available and to make it easier to
the reading public to obtain copies.
“You may recall that this was part of the
highlights of the National Survey of MSMEs Report presented by the
Statistician-General, National Bureau of Statistics,” Akpan said.
 In his welcome address,  Director-General Small and Medium Enterprises Development  Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr Umaru-Dikko Radda,  said since 2010 when the National Serve of MSMEs was first published which had become  an invaluable compedium on the state of the MSMEs sub-sector in Nigeria.
Radda said that the strategic partnership between SMEDAN and NBS was an example of the synergies that he had always advocated since he assumed office as director-general of SMEDAN.
“Setting  up of SMEDAN in 2003, was Government’s major response to tacking the problem of MSMEs sub-sector of the Nigerian economy,  SMEDAN assumed the twin role of coordination and facilitation as the apex agency for MSMEs development among others.

Ad

X whatsapp