Source: Daily Trust
Dr. Olubunmi Kole-Dawodu, the State Manager for the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has disclosed that Lagos hosts over 50 million informal businesses, underscoring the immense economic potential of this sector.
While speaking at the Stakeholders’ Forum on Economic Data Performance, organized by the Lagos Bureau of Statistics (LBS) at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kole-Dawodu emphasized the pivotal role of the informal sector in driving employment, boosting revenue, and fostering income growth.
“Numerous entrepreneurs manage multiple informal enterprises without registering them or acquiring tax identification, leaving their economic contributions unrecorded,” he noted, emphasizing the urgent need to better integrate these businesses into formal economic systems.
Kole-Dawodu highlighted the necessity of accurate data collection to capture the informal sector’s impact on GDP and to guide the development of policies that can support its growth.
Mrs. Olayinka Modupe Ojo, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, reinforced this view. She acknowledged the sector’s significant role in securing livelihoods but also pointed out its insufficient representation in economic data, which hampers its effective inclusion in policy development.
The forum convened stakeholders from government, civil society, and the private sector to tackle these issues. Discussions centered on strategies to integrate the informal sector into economic planning more effectively, laying the foundation for sustainable growth in Lagos and beyond.