By Dirisu Yakubu, ABUJA

The Abuja Enterprise Agency, AEA has been honoured with a top award in recognition of its excellent support services to the growth of small and medium scale enterprises in the nation’s capital.

The Best Micro Small and Medium Enterprise One Stop Award was presented to the agency by Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo earlier in the week during the 4th national MSMEs award which coincided with the MSMEs Day, at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja.

Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Mr. Shehu Abdulkadir who received the award on behalf of the agency reinstated the agency’s commitment in nurturing and stimulating business growth in the Federal Capital Territory, even he thanked the Office of the Vice President for the recognition and appreciates the management and staff of AEA for their hard work and commitment towards effective service delivery.

The agency emerged first among three other nominees- Bauchi MSME One Stop Shop, Jos MSME One Stop Shop and FCT MSME One Stop Shop.

Saturday Vanguard reports that the FCT MSME One Stop Shop was established as fallout of the Office of the Vice President’s ease of doing business initiative, and the agency’s successful hosting of the nation-wide business clinics held at the Eagles Square in July 2017, and the subsequent nomination of the agency by the Office of the Honourable Minister of the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, FMITI, and subsequent approval by the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

The FCT MSME One Stop Shop host 14 regulatory institutions including the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Standard Organization, SON, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, amongst others to eliminate regulatory constraints MSMEs face by providing seamless access to regulatory institution.

The agency was awarded 2020 BEST MSME One Stop Shop in recognition of its performance in the “sensitization of  FCT residents on the survival funds,  facilitation of the registration/formalization of over 7000 businesses by the CAC,  provision of  One Stop Shop services to 2, 098 MSMEs and sensitization of 9, 000 MSMEs on related activities among others.”