The Kebbi State Price Intelligence and Public Procurement Department have begun a two-day training of Small and Medium Scale Entreprises (SMEs) on procurement processes.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was organized by the department in collaboration with the state’s Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.
Alhaji Faruk Maliki, the Acting Chairman of the Department, stated this at the inauguration of the exercise on Tuesday in Birnin Kebbi.
Maliki said the exercise was designed to acquaint the SMEs with the necessary skills in procurement procedures.
He said the training would avail participants the opportunity to become contractors as being practiced in developed economies.
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The chairman noted that contracts and other services were not only meant for big companies in the state, hence the need to improve the skills of the SMEs to enable them key in into contract bidding.
Maliki explained that the annual registration was mandatory and binding on enterprises operating in the state, and urged the participants to use what they would learn to improve their businesses.
In a remark, Aisha Usman, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, described the procurement process as a new area in the state.
Usman said the training exercise would avail entrepreneurs opportunities to improve their lives by securing contracts from the state government.
“Once your capacity is improved, it certainly means that you can win contracts and once you win contracts, it simply means that you will have more resources at your disposal.
“The workshop is meant to improve your livelihood. I encourage you to pay attention to the lectures and ask questions where you do not understand,” she said.
Also speaking, Nura Bello, Chairman, Nigeria Association of SMEs in the state, commended the state government for the gesture, adding it would go a long way to encourage the growth of small enterprises in the state.
Bello said: “Before now, people like us cannot really go for the contract, it was for the rich and wealthy people.
“The state government is encouraging SMEs to bid for contracts and this is the beginning, it is important to pay attention to the lectures.”
NAN reports that about 100 participants drawn from different trades and businesses attended the training exercise.