By Oluwakemi Kindness
Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, has urged state governors to establish more MSME development and skill acquisition centres and provide matching funds to accelerate the growth of small businesses across the country.
Speaking at the 2026 World MSME Day celebration in Abuja at the weekend, Odii said stronger collaboration between federal and state governments is critical to expanding access to finance, business support and skills development for millions of entrepreneurs.
He said one MSME development centre per state is no longer enough, calling on governors to work with SMEDAN to establish more centres across senatorial districts and key commercial hubs.
“Please, state governments, work with us to create skill acquisition centres and MSME development centres in each of the states,” Odii said.
He noted that stronger state support would help small businesses access training, affordable financing and business advisory services while creating jobs and boosting local economies.
Odii also urged governors to match SMEDAN’s funding for cooperatives, trade associations and business membership organisations to expand access to finance for entrepreneurs.
The SMEDAN boss said the agency has launched a ₦500 million revolving Growth Fund for organised business groups, explaining that the facility would help entrepreneurs expand their businesses, purchase equipment and create employment.
According to him, disbursing the fund through associations will improve accountability and ensure the loans are used strictly for productive business activities.
Odii said states must also strengthen MSME infrastructure ahead of emerging regional and international trade opportunities, stressing that Nigerian businesses need greater support to compete in continental and global markets.
“Nigeria is going to host major international trade opportunities. Our small businesses are supposed to take advantage of that, but if they are not producing and are not ready, we will miss those opportunities,” he said.
He added that SMEDAN will reconvene stakeholders within the next two months to review the draft National MSME Policy before submitting it to President Bola Tinubu, allowing entrepreneurs and business groups to make final inputs into the document.
The draft policy proposes measures to expand access to affordable finance, reserve 30 per cent of government procurement for MSMEs, remove age restrictions for government business interventions and strengthen support for entrepreneurs across the country.
The World MSME Day event brought together government officials, development partners, business associations and entrepreneurs to discuss policies and initiatives aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s micro, small and medium enterprise sector, which remains one of the country’s largest sources of employment and economic growth.
