Since 1992 when the Federal Government decided to introduce the Technology Incubation Centre initiative in Nigeria, small and medium scale innovative entrepreneurs have been heaving a sigh of relief. A year later, borrowing from the experiences of China, India, Taiwan, Japan and Britain, the Federal Government established three experimental Technology Incubation Centres at Lagos, Aba and Kano in the country to harness the vast untapped potentials of this category of innovative entrepreneurs.
The centres were initially placed directly under the Federal Ministry of Science And Technology which, anyway, facilitated the centres’ establishment. However, in November 2005 the National Board for Technology Incubation was set up to oversee the centres.
Following the success stories of the three implemental centres, they were increased to 21. It is 15 years ago, these centres were first set up. Though comparatively young, they have today grown into formidable cottage technology villages from “growing” innovative small and medium scale entrepreneurs of international class. In its determination to ensure their growth and sustainable development into functioning corporate establishment, the Federal Government through the supervisory Ministry of Science and Technology – has been providing a lot of assistance to the centres where the entrepreneurs are incubated. One of such assistance is in the form of free rentage as well as free secretarial, accounting and legal services.
Similarly, the Federal Government provides a highly subsidised power/energy supply to the entrepreneurs in addition to free water from its boreholes located in each centre. Also, the government undertakes close supervision of the centres’ innovative entrepreneurs. Through this strategy, the government is able to identify and assist them to solve any problems of funding, business certification, product standardization, technical tool kitting; research/development and market exposure.
Such services rendered to these entrepreneurs runs into millions of naira annually. Ordinarily, this level of funding are not available to them because of their small cash holdings and their lack of collateral security for bank loans which, anyway, come with neck breaking interests. Even when some of these innovative entrepreneurs can personally provide such services on their own business wisdom advise against such a decision. This is because, if made, only little operational funds are left for running the business outfit profitably and sustainably.
In other words, federal government interventionist initiative of growing small/medium scale entrepreneurs in incubation centres is to enable them preserve their limited capital base, minimise their cost of production, raise their comparative cost advantage and ensure their products enter the market at a cheap, more competitive price. Much more, the government initiative is to empower the entrepreneurs to have healthy savings from their business transactions. Without such savings, the prospects of re-investment of profits as a tool for sustainable growth of their business outfits may become a pipedream.
The Federal Government realises that, no matter the level of their cash holdings, small/medium scale innovative entrepreneurs, still need some funding. Given this economic reality, the government approved the Small And Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEIS). The scheme enabled commercial banks to contribute 10 percent of their profits before tax for financing small and medium entrepreneurs.
Currently, the scheme has been replaced by a micro-credit funding initiative. Under this arrangement, state governments are collaborating with commercial banks to fund the small medium enterprises sub-sector.
It is 16 years ago that the Federal Government first set up Technology Incubation Centres as an initiative for wealth creation; promoting indigenous technology; generating employment; commercialising research findings; and diversifying Nigeria’s industrial base.
So far, these centres have graduated many successful small/medium scale entrepreneurs now operating in the business world as well as contributing their own quotas to the national economy. Come September 26, 2008 five of such graduates will again be turned out now at the Technology Incubation Centre, Benin. These graduates are its first batch of innovative small/medium entrepreneurs produced by the centre established in 1999.
Looking back in time at the journey of the Technology Incubation Centre, a source remarked; “Indeed, they have been fulfilling their mission statement. This is because the Federal Government has been addressing all the problems and challenges of running the centre now seen as innovative technology villages of excellence for growing small and medium scale entrepreneurs.”
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