The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has announced plans to generate more employment opportunities within the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector through its “GROW Nigerian” initiative.
Speaking at a meeting in Abuja, SMEDAN’s Director-General, Charles Odii, explained that the GROW strategy—an acronym for Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Support—is designed to help SMEs overcome common challenges and drive growth across various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
According to Odii, the initiative will provide small businesses with expert guidance, mentorship, and strategic advice to address obstacles and optimize growth potential. Additionally, SMEDAN aims to equip these enterprises with essential resources such as funding, technology, and infrastructure to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability.
The GROW strategy also seeks to create platforms and market access opportunities for small businesses, enabling them to showcase their products and services while expanding their reach.
Odii emphasized that SMEDAN will offer training programs and skill development resources to empower entrepreneurs and their teams, fostering innovation and boosting productivity within the MSME sector.
“GROW Nigerian is SMEDAN’s strategic blueprint outlining plans to accelerate economic growth by providing vital resources to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“It proposes our theory of change, which holds that by providing adequate Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Support (GROW), SMEs can overcome common obstacles and experience growth.”
The SMEDAN DG said the agency has achieved so much in repositioning the MSMEs sector, adding that within the first three months of this year alone, over 90,000 jobs have been created through the implementation of various initiatives.
Odii said going forward, SMEDAN, through the GROW Nigerian strategy, would be focusing on eight critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The eight critical areas are agriculture value chain, fashion and textile industry, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing and production, education, Nigerian digital economy, innovation and new tech adoption.
He expressed optimism that through some of the programmes being implemented by SMEDAN, the agency would be able to address some of the identified challenges facing MSMEs in Nigeria.
He gave some of these challenges to include difficulty in accessing capital and funding for business ventures, high operating costs, regulatory burdens, which include issues such as multiple taxation, high registration costs, and bureaucratic bottlenecks, and a lack of skilled workforce and training opportunities.
Others are inadequate physical and technological infrastructure, especially in rural areas, poor market access, limited access to technology and innovation, as well as insufficient access to cutting-edge technology and innovative resources.
“If SMEDAN, in collaboration with key partners and stakeholders, empower entrepreneurs with the right combination of what they need to grow – knowledge, capital, team support, access to market, network and ecosystem support their growth will be accelerated and they will build sustainable businesses that will create jobs, improve our quality of life and deliver value for all,” Odii concluded.