By 
By Nwakaego Alajemba and Oluwatobi Opusunju
The maiden edition of the National Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Awards has successfully held in Abuja this week. Organised by the federal government of Nigeria, the occasion was designed to recognize and reward MSMEs which collectively contribute nearly 40% to Nigeria’s GDP according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The award recognition is cash-backed and targets to further encourage the largely ignored MSME sub-sector.
The awards is the fallout of the National MSME Clinics that involved the interaction of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and 14 federal agencies with more than 300, 000 MSMEs in 16 Cities across the country.
The award categories, 12 in all, include: MSME of the Year, Young MSME of the Year, Most Friendly MSME State, Excellence in Technology Innovation, Excellence in Creative Arts, Excellence in Agriculture, Excellence in Manufacturing, and Excellence in Fashion and Style. Others are Excellence in Leather Works, Excellence Furniture and Wood Works, Excellence in Beauty, Wellness and Cosmetics as well as Excellence for Non-Profit Service to Humanity.
The MSME award criteria include outstanding business concept, locally produced goods, use of local technology, and provision of conducive atmosphere for MSMEs.
Group photograph of NITDA’s delegation during the Maiden Edition of the National MSME Awards 2018
The Excellence in Technology Innovation award category is supported by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) whose management team to the award ceremony was led by its Director General, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
NITDA provided extensive support to the MSMEClinics held nationwide where it urged MSMEs to leverage internet tools by making use of the .ng domain name to trade their businesses online. To encourage this, the agency gave out free domain names to participants of the clinics who indicated interest to go online.
