Several state and federal agencies are established by the Nigerian government to nurture and promote entrepreneurial initiatives in Nigeria. These agencies are equipped to deal with the challenges that could confront any small and medium or large-scale enterprises in Nigeria, and their roles fall under three broad categories.
Participatory agencies
These are agencies that assist the government in providing goods and services that the government ought to have undertaken in the first place. They are assigned to participatory agencies to encourage transparency, load shedding, and better accountability to the people. They provide services that are much subsidized by the government and at quarter the cost of what private individuals will use to produce them. Examples of these agencies are –
- Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA)
- Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)
- National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
- Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
Regulatory agencies
These agencies are established as the business-regulatory arm of the state or federal government. Their core functions the inspection of business facilities, carrying out laboratory tests on products, approval of production facilities, analysis of product qualities and safety among others. Examples of these agencies are –
- Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON)
- National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
- National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
- Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA)
- State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
Facilitating agencies
These are agencies established to support and grow small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria. These agencies may offer specialized loans or grants to develop a business effort and they serve to facilitate the development of private and public businesses in the country. Examples of these include –
- The Industrial Training Fund (ITF)
- Bank of Industry (BOI)
- The Industrial Development Centre (IDC)
- Federal Institute Of Industrial Research (FIIR), Oshodi, Lagos
- Polytechnics and universities
- The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC)
- The National Directorate of Employment (NDE)
- The National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP)
- The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)
Others
The federal government is aware that trade disputes do occur and seek for ways to handle or resolve industrial disputes among various medium or large-scale businesses in Nigeria. This led to the establishment of agencies that exist to promote industrial harmony among industrial players in the country. Some of these are –
- The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN)
- The National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI)
- The Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA)
- The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA)