By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Federal Government on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the country’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem through closer inter-agency collaboration, expanded access to financing, and technology-driven incubation, as key officials projected fresh waves of job creation across the sector.
Fielding questions after a meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, expressed optimism about recent developments, noting that progress in the MSME space is clear evidence that broad-based economic reforms are gaining traction.
On the specifics of the high-level engagement attended by government officials, development partners and industry players, Idris said the forum offered a comprehensive overview of ongoing initiatives and reflected growing synergy among institutions driving small-business growth.
He commended the Office of the Special Adviser on MSMEs for what he termed renewed coordination and visible enthusiasm among participants, noting that Nigeria’s MSME ecosystem generated about 250,000 jobs last year, with projections that another 300,000 could be added if current momentum is sustained.
While acknowledging that the figures remain modest compared to national demand, he stressed that consistent progress would significantly deepen financial inclusion and economic participation.
The Minister also noted increasing international recognition of Nigeria’s reform agenda, citing engagements with global financial institutions and improved ratings as indicators of renewed investor confidence.
He added that Nigeria’s expanding presence on the continent underscores its leadership role in promoting sustainable prosperity across Africa.
Echoing the call for stronger institutional synergy, the Special Adviser to the President on MSMEs, Tola Adekunle-Johnson, said President Bola Tinubu had directed all federal agencies to operate within a unified framework to accelerate job creation and improve access to funding for small businesses.
Adekunle-Johnson explained that agencies, including the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), are now working “as a single team” to deliver measurable results.
He noted that the coordinated approach is expected to lower lending rates for MSME loans, widen market opportunities and streamline institutional support.
According to him, joint interventions over the past year created about 250,000 jobs, while partnerships with state governments facilitated the establishment of de-risking and matching funds to guarantee single-digit interest rates of 9-10 per cent for entrepreneurs.
He added that the Vice President had further directed SMEDAN to intensify engagement with more state governments to broaden participation in funding initiatives. At the same time, the NEPC continues to enhance export market access for small businesses.
On his part, Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, said the agency is widening collaboration across government and the private sector to cut unemployment and expand opportunities for entrepreneurs, stressing that “job creation cannot be achieved in isolation.”
Ode disclosed that SMEDAN is strengthening inter-governmental partnerships and recently convened strategy meetings involving members of the National Assembly as part of preparations for a fresh review of MSME-related policies.
He revealed that Nigeria previously recorded about 39.6 million nano, micro, small and medium enterprises, adding that a new enumeration exercise would soon commence to capture updated growth figures and guide planning.
He further outlined plans for multiple programme rollouts in 2026, including targeted support for the textile and fashion industry in partnership with the ITF, where selected designers and tailors would receive fully equipped business setups valued at about N5 million each.
The SMEDAN boss also announced plans to establish what he described as West Africa’s first meta and digital fabrication centre in Lagos, scheduled for commissioning by the Vice President in April, with replication planned across other geopolitical zones.
The centres, he said, would focus on region-specific value chains such as timber processing in Edo and Ondo states, ceramics production in mineral-rich areas and leather fabrication in Kano, leveraging digital production methods to boost efficiency and competitiveness.
He maintained that the agency’s technology-driven incubation model and expanded partnerships align with the administration’s broader economic agenda of private-sector-led growth, adding that beneficiaries of training programmes would be required to mentor others, creating a multiplier effect in enterprise development and employment generation.
