1,000 Young Pros Converge On Port Harcourt For N’Delta MSME Summit

Over 1000 young professionals from across the Niger Delta region have set to converge on Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, for the 4th Niger Delta MSME Summit/Bootcamp.

The event, organised by the Niger Delta Young Professionals (NDYP), will take place on June 27, 2024, strategically coinciding with the 2024 United Nations World MSME Day.

World MSME Day is dedicated to creating a platform for discussions on how key stakeholders, including policymakers, large companies, financial institutions, and the international community, can support micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses in advancing the 2030 Agenda and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as poverty eradication and decent work for all.

With this year’s theme, “Building a Culture of Entrepreneurship and Self-reliance Beyond Oil,” the NDYP aims to sustain and expand opportunities for young MSME owners in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region.

In a statement, the summit’s convener, Moses Siloko Siasia, emphasised that the event is designed to bring together economists, policymakers, and business development experts to examine the critical role of MSMEs in the economy.

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He said that despite challenges like lack of government support, poor management, high-interest loans, corruption, and inadequate infrastructure, the initiative has consistently delivered sustainable impacts.

Leading this year’s speakers is Summy Smart Francis, President of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E.). Other notable speakers include Engr. Temitope Runsewe, CEO of Dutum Company Limited; Mrs. Esther F. Adebayo, President of the Women Agro Processors, Agricgen, and Exporters Initiative (WAPAGEIN); Otuya Okecha, MD/CEO Firbesol Nigeria Limited; and Dr. Martins Fregene, director of Agriculture at the African Development Bank.

Siasia highlighted that the summit aims to “ignite the next generation through expanding entrepreneurial culture in the Niger Delta region.

“Participants will be drawn from the nine states of the Niger Delta, with past editions demonstrating positive outcomes and a promising future for entrepreneurs in the region.

“Past beneficiaries of the summit, many of whom have received grants, have successfully grown their businesses and created employment opportunities for other MSMEs.”

The inaugural edition in 2021 in Port Harcourt saw over 400 Niger Deltans benefit from the NIRSAL Intervention Loan for small businesses in agriculture, the creative industry, and ICT. Subsequent editions were held in Asaba, Delta State in 2022, and Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State in 2023.

This year’s event will feature product exhibitions, grants, bootcamps, main-stage keynotes, panel discussions, interactive master sessions, style breakouts, business-to-business meetings, mentoring sessions, and networking opportunities with a distinguished lineup of successful entrepreneurs, innovators, strategists, and business leaders from top brands.