Originally published at: https://www.ogbongeblog.com/eko-fashion-hub-1-shared-facility-for-tailors-in-lagos-nigeria.html
The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday virtually inaugurated Eko Fashion Hub 1, a fashion cluster shared facility for tailors in Lagos, state Nigeria.
The Eko facility, which was developed through a collaboration between the federal government, the Lagos State Government, and the Organised Private Sector, is an end-to-end fashion production centre equipped with first-rate machines and equipment and will be made available to the public under a shared facility style structure.
There are 161 machines at the EKO facility, including 74 industrial straight sewing machines, 10 industrial steam pressing irons, four monogramming machines, eight industrial button-hole and five industrial button tacking machines, Tinko and Coil machines, hemming and industrial weaving machines, among others. The Facility also has a 100kva standby generator and a 2kva solar power system. According to the VP, the Eko Fashion Hub 1 shared facility will service 380 MSMEs daily, and 136,800 yearly.
The Vice President said the Buhari administration’s commitment to the success of small businesses is evident in its MSMEs Clinics initiative, which extends business support services to small businesses across the country, of which the MSMEs Shared Facility Scheme was a core component.
The VP noted that, “the choice of Alade Market and the general Allen Avenue area for Eko Fashion Hub 1 was a unanimous one arising from extensive consultations between the federal government’s MSME Clinics project, the Lagos State Government and the fashion cluster in Lagos.
“With the launch of the Eko MSME Fashion Hub 1, MSMEs in and around Ikeja will no longer have to travel far to use equipment that is expensive for individual businesses to procure by themselves such as those for making button-holes or monogramming.
“With its full-scale production line, this Hub will enable production of a diverse range of clothing and garments: wedding dresses, military uniforms, office wear, and similar products. Very soon, the products of the Hub will be ubiquitous on the streets and in stores around the country. The fashion industry will be one of Nigeria’s biggest sources of revenues, it will be bigger than oil.”
Prof. Osinbajo added that the Buhari administration was also supporting small businesses by improving access to credit through the Central Bank, Development Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Industry, and others; and lessening the tax burdens, through initiatives like the Finance Act, “which has exempted businesses generating less than N25 million in annual turnover from Companies Income Tax. Those with a turnover of between N25m and N100m will only pay 20% corporate income tax instead of the normal rate of 30%.”
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was physically present at the event in Ikeja, commended the President and Vice President for supporting the scheme, and stated that there would be plans to replicate the same in other parts of the state.
Virtually present at the inauguration was the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum; CEO and Group Managing Director, Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe; and the Special Assistant to the President on MSMEs, in the Office of the Vice President, Tola Johnson.
Other include the CEO, Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr. Olukayode Pitan; Director-General/CEO, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda; Registrar General/CEO, Corporate Affairs Commission, Alhaji Garba Abubakar; Managing Director, NEXIM Bank, Abba Bello, among others.
Other government officials on ground at the commissioning include the State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Dr. Lola Akande, among others.