Section 8: Functions of the Agency.

The Agency shall be responsible for:(a) initiating and articulating ideas for small and medium scale industries policy thrusts.
(b) serving as a vanguard agency and focal point for rural industrialisation, poverty alleviation and eradication, technology acquisition and adaptation, job creation and sustainable livelihood.
(c) promoting and facilitating development programmes, instruments and support services to accelerate development, modernisation, networking and linkage of small and medium scale industries;
(d) mobilising internal and external resources, including technical assistance for small and medium scale industries, their support institutions, trade associations, and non-governmental organization;
(e) overseeing, co-ordinating and monitoring development in the small and medium industries sub-sector;
(f) designing, packaging and promoting cottage and micro small and medium scale industrial projects;
(g) providing industrial extension services to small and medium scale industries, fabricators of machinery and beneficiaries of micro-credit loans;
(h) establishing liaison between research institutes, local fabricators and small and medium scale industries;
(i) linking small scale industrialists to sources of finance, technology, technical skill development and management;
(j) facilitating and promoting and development of standard designs and quality assurance for machinery and equipment, and commercialising them to end-users;
(k) promoting and providing access to industrial infrastructure, including estates and layouts, and incubators;
(l) providing necessary assistance to small and medium scale industries in the marketing of their products;
(m) promoting ancilarisation, sub-contracting, clustering and networking relationship;
(n) providing and promoting strategic linkages within small and medium scale industries;
(o) encouraging and promoting strategic linkages within small and medium scale industries, and between small and medium scale industries and large scale industries;
(p) establishing and co-ordinating the institutional development and activities of Industries Development Centres in Nigeria;
(q) collaborating with the Agriculture Research and Mechanisation Centres and Agro-industrial Schemes in Nigeria;
(r) liaising with external agencies for support and development of small and medium scale industries in Nigeria;
(s) listing products that small and medium scale industries have substantial internal capacities to manufacture to meet domestic market for Federal Government's patronage and deletion or restriction on the schedule of importable goods;
(t) recommending to the Federal Government , from time to time, in consultation with other relevant agencies and organizations, on applicable tax and tariff regimes and other financial incentives for promoting the development of small and medium scale industries;
(u) monitoring the implementation of and compliance with Federal Government directives, incentives, and facilities for development of small function of the Agency in order to promote government policies in or outside Nigeria;
(v) carrying out such other activities connected with or incidental to the other functions of the Agency in order to promote government policies in or outside Nigeria;
(w) provision of and facilitating technical and managerial training to small and medium scale industries.