The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has stated that it is collaborating with the Nigeria Postal Service to drive down the cost of logistics for SMEs in the country.
This was disclosed by the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr. Charles Odii via his X handle after a meeting with the Postmaster General and CEO of NIPOST, Mrs. Tola Odeyemi.
According to Odii, the cost of logistics has been a key barrier for many Nigerian SMEs, as the prices of products delivery might be more than the costs of the items themselves. He stated that this informed the discussion with NIPOST to resolve the issue.
While the terms of the agreement and how SMEs will participate in its still sketchy, the SMEDAN DG stated that he would unveil “the outcome of this partnership in the coming days, which will benefit small businesses.”
The SMEDAN DG emphasized the need of lowering delivery costs for Nigerian enterprises, noting that the logistics problem has had an impact on trading volumes in the SME industry.
“Our interactions with small businesses across various platforms, including town halls and cooperative meetings, have consistently identified logistics as a major bottleneck hindering trade volumes and profit.
“In some cases, the cost of delivery exceeds the price of the goods, discouraging consumers and limiting the growth potential of these businesses.
“To tackle this challenge, I met today with Tola Odeyemi the Postmaster General and CEO of NIPOST, to discuss how we can leverage the organization’s extensive reach and infrastructure, including in rural areas, to provide small businesses with an affordable, efficient, and reliable logistics solution.
“Encouragingly, we share a common understanding of the critical role logistics plays in driving inclusive economic growth and prosperity, both as an employment generator and trade enabler,” he said.
According to a 2017 research by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria had 41.5 million MSMEs that employed about sixty million people. These businesses account for around 46.31% of GDP and 96% of total enterprises in Nigeria.
