By Francis Ajuonuma
The SME Mall has launched a business support programme for women entrepreneurs, combining a subsidised business diagnostic tool with capacity development and access to a ₦3 million support fund.
The initiative, the Women in Business Support Programme, is designed to address a major constraint confronting many small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria: businesses often struggle not only because of inadequate financing but also because of weak financial systems, poor branding, limited technology adoption and regulatory gaps.
The programme’s centrepiece is the SME Mall Business Health Checker, a diagnostic tool designed to help entrepreneurs identify weaknesses and determine areas requiring urgent intervention before seeking expansion or additional funding.
Managing Director/CEO of The SME Mall, Muyiwa Kwasi Femi-Pearse, said the initiative was designed to move beyond conventional funding-focused entrepreneurship interventions.
“For many small and medium-sized businesses, access to finance is only one part of the growth challenge,” Femi-Pearse said.
He identified weak financial management, inadequate business structures, limited technology adoption, poor branding, regulatory gaps and human-resource challenges as factors capable of undermining otherwise viable businesses.
“The Women in Business Support Programme has therefore been structured to combine business diagnosis, entrepreneurial development, pitching and financial support,” he said.
The Business Health Checker assesses enterprises across six critical areas: legal and compliance, technology and tools, people and human resources, business strategy, marketing and branding, and finance and accounting.
The assessment costs participating entrepreneurs a subsidised ₦7,500, while registration of interest is free.
According to the SME Mall, the programme is based on the premise that sustainable enterprise growth requires more than access to capital.
It said entrepreneurs need business knowledge, reliable diagnostic tools, technology and professional support to identify operational weaknesses and make informed decisions.
Following the assessment, participants will submit a pitch video of not more than two minutes through the Women in Business Competition portal. Successful participants will proceed to pitch their businesses for a share of the ₦3 million support fund.
The funding may be deployed to areas including equipment acquisition, inventory expansion, marketing, technology adoption, production and operational improvements.
The programme is open to women operating businesses across sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, fashion, food and beverages, beauty, retail, technology, professional services and the creative industries.
The SME Mall said the initiative was particularly important given the contribution of women-owned businesses to employment, household income and economic activity, despite persistent barriers to finance, technology, business advisory services and market expansion.
It urged women entrepreneurs to use the programme not merely as a route to funding but as an opportunity to critically assess their businesses, correct weaknesses and build stronger and more sustainable enterprises.
The initiative’s central message is: “Assess your business. Understand where you stand. Improve your performance. Pitch your idea. Access financial support.”
