The National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) has urged the Federal Government to faithfully implement policies on the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

Mr Duro Kuteyi, NASSI Vice-President made the call in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

Kuteyi urged the government to take a cue from other countries where indigenous companies were protected with good incentives, grants, access to borrow at single digit and the availability of intervention funds.

According to him, all these should be put in place to make Nigerian producers to compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.

“Governments all over the world have realised the importance of this category of companies and have formulated comprehensive policies to encourage, support and fund the establishment of SMEs,” he said.

Kuteyi said that the benefits of SMEs to any economy were easily noticeable.

He listed such benefits to include the creation of jobs at relatively low capital cost, especially in the fast growing service sector, and the provision of a vehicle for the reduction of income disparities.

He said that other benefit was developing a pool of skilled and semi-skilled workers as a basis for the future expansion of the industries.

Kuteyi said that the sector offered excellent breeding ground for entrepreneurial and managerial talent, among other benefits.

He said that emphasis would be laid on the packaging of products to meet international standards as part of the association’s plans for 2011.

“This year, we are planning to put members in a cluster park where they will be thought the rudiments of good packaging.

“It has come to our notice that this is the major challenge our products face in the world markets,” he said.