By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has raised concerns over the shortage of investment-ready startups in the country, despite the availability of significant funding opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, made the observation at the opening of the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) Project’s Training of Trainers programme in Abuja.
A statement on Monday by the Moshood Lawal, Head, Corporate Affairs Unit, SMEDAN, says Odii, was represented by Director Onesi-Lawani, Director of the DG’s Office.
According to Odii, while investors are willing to fund innovative businesses, Nigeria still lacks enough startups that meet the standards required to attract available capital.
“Significant funding opportunities exist for Nigerian startups, but there remains a shortage of investment-ready businesses capable of attracting available capital,” he said.
He urged participants to focus on developing entrepreneurs capable of building scalable, technology-driven and globally competitive enterprises that can attract investment and compete internationally.
SMEDAN disclosed that the training programme attracted more than 1,100 applications, from which 80 candidates were shortlisted across the Business Management and Artificial Intelligence streams. Following another round of interviews, 30 participants were selected for the two-week intensive programme.
The agency said the successful participants would become ACE-certified trainers tasked with mentoring young Nigerians to leverage technology, innovation and creativity to build investment-ready businesses.
Odii identified Fintech, Agritech, Healthtech, Logistics and Mobility, as well as the creative economy, including digital media, fashion, gaming, animation and film—as sectors with strong growth and investment potential.
He noted that Nigeria remains Africa’s leading startup ecosystem and is home to five of the continent’s eight unicorns, urging the trainees to help nurture the next generation of billion-dollar businesses.
The Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a flagship entrepreneurship and innovation initiative of SMEDAN, implemented in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to strengthen entrepreneurship education, digital innovation, business incubation and enterprise development across Nigeria.
