Editor’s Note
This article examines the GEMS project, a multi-donor initiative aimed at stimulating job creation and non-oil sector growth in Nigeria by supporting SMEs across key value chains.
Growth and Employment in States (GEMS) was an employment project supported by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment (FMTI) and funded by the World Bank and the UK government. The project was aimed at job creation and increased non-oil growth in specific high potential value chain sectors. The program targeted at least five economic sectors and aimed to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in creating at least 100,000 jobs.
The five GEM clusters or sectors are ICT, light manufacturing, construction, hospitality and entertainment. Using a cluster approach (a cluster being defined as all participants in the value chain of a given industry, as well as the related and supporting industries and institutions) GEM was driven by the needs and opportunities identified by participating firms and clusters and provided tailored approaches to identified problems.
The GEM support was provided on two platforms: The Business Innovation and Growth (BIG) Platform, an interactive internet portal which served as gateway to the project and where participants received training, and the Business Development Market Place (BDMP) which worked with MSMEs across Nigeria to mentor them, provide support services and link them up with financial institutions.
KPMG provided independent third party supervision of the grant windows of the GEM project, in particular on the areas of governance, outreach and results. The firm also provided monitoring and supervision of the BIG Platform and BDMP, assessing the validity of information provided on the BIG Platform as well as the face-to-face training and quality of BD service providers. The firm also conducted surveys to help evaluate the impact of the BIG Platform, the BD Market Place, as well as the impact of the grant windows.