UNIDO’s contribution to the end poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that focuses its efforts on relieving poverty by fostering productivity growth. It mobilizes knowledge, skills, information and technology to promote productive employment, a competitive economy and a sound environment. UNIDO was established in 1966 and become a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1985. UNIDO is responsible for promoting industrial development throughout developing world in cooperation with its member states. The activities of UNIDO are focused on three key areas: Poverty Reduction, Trade Capacity Building and Energy and Environment. In line with the MDGs, UNIDO addresses poverty reduction by focusing on enabling the poor to earn a living, rather than providing help to deal with the symptoms of poverty. UNIDO deliver its programme in the areas of Industrial Governance and Statistics, Investment and Technology Promotion, Industrial Competitiveness and Trade, Private Sector Development, Agro-Industries, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change, Montreal Protocol and Environment Management.

UNIDO in Nigeria
UNIDO operates in Nigeria under the Country Service Framework (CSF) signed with Federal Government of Nigeria since 2000.

Sustainable Energy and Environment: UNIDO launched a special initiative on Rural Energy for Productive use to De-link intensity of energy use from economic growth and reducing the environmental damage that occurs with energy use. Its services include providing access to modern energy services for the poor with emphasis on renewable energy projects; increasing productivity through improving industrial energy efficiency projects; and reducing GHG emissions through capacity building projects for climate change. UNIDO interventions include pilot micro-hydro power plants (Enugu and Bauchi) and fuel-wood replacement projects for people in communities (Ebonyi). UNIDO is also involved in area of Cleaner and Sustainable Production, Water management; and Persistent Organic Pollutants and Persistent Toxic Substances with such projects as the restoration in the Lagos Lagoon and cleaner production in Textile Industries. A regional center for environmental information management system has been established at the University of Lagos. A $7 million project to phase out ozone depleting substances in the refrigeration, aerosol and solvent sectors has been established.

SME Cluster Development: Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) plays a key role in economic growth and equitable development in Nigeria. However, the potential of SMEs is often not fully realized because of problems commonly related to size, but also due to isolation. Their contribution to employment generation, poverty reduction and wider distribution of wealth represents a major window of opportunity to meet the MDGs. UNIDO in recognition of this has developed cluster Programme to provide assistance to SMEs so that they can escape these limitations. The various clusters developed by UNIDO to assist SMEs in Nigeria are Textile and leather clusters in Aba, Abia State and Automotive cluster in Nnewi, Anambra State.

Rural Women Entrepreneurship Development: Rural development and gender equality are key elements of strategies to reduce poverty and create income and employment opportunities. UNIDO in collaboration with Ebony State Government created a business environment that encourages rural women entrepreneurs in the areas of salt processing using modern clean technology which replaced use of fuel wood with solar energy. It also established a sustainable energy planning cell in the government to prepare and implement plans for rural energy for productive use.

Business Information: The rapid advances in information and communication technologies have far-reaching effects on business operations. Small and Medium Enterprises need to have access to adequate information. In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, UNIDO has established an integrated Industrial Information Center at Lagos Business School-EDS (LBS-EDS), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Ministry of Industry that links all relevant information sources into a demand-driven, commercially-operated one-stop-shop to help address business information barrier hitherto experienced by the SME.

Industrial Competitiveness and Trade: UNIDO pursues two broad categories of interventions in this area: Capacity building in the area of standards, metrology, testing and accreditation to overcome technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures constraints; enhancing the competitiveness of country enterprises through quality and productivity improvements, and supporting the development of mechanisms to assist them in accessing global subcontracting and supply chains and networks. To achieve this objective, Metrology Laboratory for metrology services and Food Chemistry Laboratory of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) are established in Lagos and is equipped with the State of the art equipment and facilities to carry out analysis of any food item in line with the requirements of the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS).


Contact for media : Francis Ukoh, Tel: 09-461 6304 ; E-mail: francis.ukoh@undp.org
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