Captains of industry, and bankers among other stakeholders will gather on Saturday December 12,2020 in Lagos to discuss ways to revive the comatose Small and Medium Enterprise and the country’s real sector at large.

This will happen at the annual workshop being organised by the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria.

This was contained in CICAN’s media statement signed by the event’ s Organising Chairman Johnmark Ukoko and the Secretary, Mrs Ebere Nworji and made available to our correspondent.

The theme of the worksho is ‘Effects of COVID-19 on the real Sector/ SMEs Financing.’

The statement indicated among the important personalities expected to grace the event are the Minister Of Trade, Industry and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, the Managing Director / CEO of Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Olusegun Awolowo, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Engr Munsur Ahmed and others Captains of Industry.

Others expected include the Director General of National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, and the President of Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Prince Degun Agbode

The statement added that the Managing Director of Bank of Industry, and Viluton Energy Limited CEO, Ugonwa Okoli are equally expected to grace the event.

The organisers argued that despite the fact ‘SMEs are the engines of growth of Nigeria’ s economy employing many millions of the youths, the authorities have not done much to tackle the various challenges confronting them.”

The statement noted that “the forum will enable the media professionals reporting the sector opportunity to meet the captains of industry and brainstorm to tackle the challenges facing the sector.

The statement concluded that “banks’CEOs present will be given opportunity to tell their stories on their financing efforts so far and what they will do in the year 2021.”

The communique of the workshop, it added, “will be given wide publicity to enable the government attend to their challenges.”

The CICAN’ s statement said “the media will do all within their power to support the SMEs sector.”

CICAN was established about three decades ago by NACCIMA to adequately report the real sector of Nigerian’s economy.