The appointment of Mr. Olawale Tunde Fasanya as the new Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari (SMEDAN).
His appointment, which became effective on June 6, 2022, was announced in a letter from the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, dated June 23, 2022.
In a statement released on Saturday in Abuja, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, the Deputy Director/Head of SMEDAN’s Corporate Affairs Unit, described Fasanya as an experienced technocrat and certified business development advisor with a demonstrated history of significant achievements spanning 35 years in the MSME ecosystem in Nigeria.
It is anticipated that he will draw from his wealth of experience in his new national assignment.
Mr. Olawale Tunde Fasanya was born in Ogbomosho, Osun State, South West Nigeria, on June 3, 1962.
He holds a West African School Certificate; a Bachelor of Arts (English and Literary Studies) from the esteemed University of Ife, now known as Obafemi Awolowo University Ife; an Advanced Certificate in Public Relations from the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ) in Ogba, Lagos, Nigeria, in 1990; a Master of Public Administration from Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria, in 1994; and a Diploma in Market-Oriented Small Business Development Service from the International Training Center.
From June 1985 to June 1986, Mr. Fasanya completed his required National Youth Service with the Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTC) Jos, where he produced and hosted a weekly radio program called Plateau State Roundup.
The statement also stated that Fasanya began his professional career as a deputy editor/administrative officer at the publishing company Jator Publishing Company in Ibadan, Oyo State.
From August 1998 to June 1999, he worked as a productivity officer, senior productivity officer, assistant chief public relations officer, and chief public relations officer at the National Productivity Centre (NPC) in Abuja.
Mr. Fasanya also worked as the Hon. Minister of State for the Ministry of Defense’s personal assistant from June 1999 to February 2002, and then as the Hon. Minister of Solid Minerals’ special assistant from February 2002 to May 2003.
Mr. Fasanya served as a Special Assistant to the Pioneer Director General/CEO of the Agency, Mrs. Modupe Adelaja, and was in charge of all departments under the Director General’s Office as Deputy Director and Group Head, Corporate Affairs, among those who made up the core of the agency’s pioneer staff in 2003.
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From July to December 2008, this devoted and committed civil servant served as SMEDAN’s acting director-general.
Between April 2009 and January 2011, he served as the group head for strategic planning, policy, and coordination. Mr. Fasanya was promoted to the position of Director, Strategic Planning Policy and Coordination in January 2011. He held this position until October 2014, when he was promoted to Director, Enterprise Development and Promotion, unquestionably the Agency’s heart, a position he held until 2018 when he was appointed to another strategic position as Director, Policy Planning, Research Monitoring and Evaluation, a position in which he excelled until his retirement.
Mr. Fasanya has undoubtedly experienced everything in SMEDAN, a business whose conception and development he contributed to. Therefore, it is not surprising that Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, who served the Agency for six years as DG/CEO, was replaced by him the Federal Government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
