The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said it will continue to collaborate and support the Nano Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NMSMEs) to enable them to grow the nation’s economy.

According to a statement by NAFDAC Resident Media Consultant, Olusayo Akintola, on Tuesday stated that the agency’s Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, made the disclosure at a meeting in Lagos.

According to the director-general, NAFDAC will continue to drive collaboration and understanding between NMSMEs and the regulatory authority with a view to empowering them in terms of the next step for their businesses.

The director-general said that such regulatory scrutiny is all about protecting businesses and their environment.

“When I see you, I see myself because I was raised up trading with my mother, with my grandmother selling things. I know how hard it is to put money together and trade.

“I know how hard it is or the anxious moments that the average trader has, wondering whether he or she is going to have profit,” she.

She said that NMSMEs are capable of driving the economy of Nigeria, adding that Nigeria had a recession a few years ago and still came out of it despite all the odds and the challenges of the mega-industry.

“How did we come out of it quickly?’’ asked rhetorically, as she said that the NMSMEs subsector is the magic wand that sustained the economy during the turbulent period.

She said that this was possible because of the mandate from the agency on food, packaged water, cosmetics and others.

Adeyeye said that three of the agency’s mandates were under NMSMEs, along with chemical and herbal regulations.

She said that the agency would not take NMSMEs matters lightly.

She urged operators of NMSMEs to always focus on one product that is well accepted by the consumers rather than manufacturing many products at the same time where none would be accepted.