Director General, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN Dikko Umaru Radda has said that most Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs struggle because they refuse to take advantage of intellectual property benefits to their businesses.
Radda said that robust intellectual property, IP, can grow businesses as much as it contributes to economic growth.
He regretted that in spite of this, a lot of businesses in Nigeria especially the small and medium size entrepreneurs do not assess, audit, evaluate or monetise their intellectual property.
Radda made the assertions at a forum tagged Intellectual Property Forum Nigeria, organized by IP Radio Station in conjunction with hybrid indigenous tourism and leisure company, Butterfly Tourism.
The DG who was represented by Bumi Daudu, said some of the SMEs don’t know even as little as what trade mark or protection is all about, and as a result, have been running businesses for decades without any protection of their IP.
He said: “I think collaboration between those that are championing IPR in Nigeria and SMEDAN is inevitable at this moment where the business world is changing in Nigeria.
“People need to guard whatever they have with everything they have inside of them to make it work”
