For more than a decade, Nigeria’s small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), the country’s largest employers and backbone of the real economy, have remained largely excluded from formal bank financing, despite repeated policy pledges to support them. An analysis of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin covering 2014 to 2023 reveals a troubling reality: …
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has revealed plans to launch a microfinance bank and wants the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to grant it an operating licence. Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, disclosed this during a media parley in Abuja on Wednesday, while unveiling the agency’s five-point agenda for 2026. …
Nigeria’s economy gained significant momentum in 2024, with Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announcing a rise in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to ₦372.8 trillion, up from ₦309.5 trillion the previous year. President Tinubu described the progress as a clear indication that Nigeria’s fiscal and structural reforms are finally beginning …
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have unveiled a nationwide initiative to provide free business registration for 250,000 nano, micro, and small enterprises. The scheme, announced in Abuja during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies, aims to ease the burden …
Vice President Kashim Shettima has restated the Federal Government’s determination to place micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at the heart of Nigeria’s economic renewal agenda. He described MSMEs as the “lifeblood of the nation’s economy,” constituting about 80 per cent of businesses in the country. Shettima stated this while delivering his remarks at the …
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Dr Olayemi Cardoso, to balance price stability with growth, raising concerns over the cash reserve ratio (CRR) and monetary policy rate (MPR) environment. CPPE made the call in a statement on Sunday, September 21, by its …
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is to begin deploying Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered trucks on 15 September as part of a sweeping logistics-free fuel distribution programme aimed at reducing fuel retail prices and easing inflation. The initiative, which is a ₦720 billion investment, will see 4,000 CNG‑powered trucks distributed nationwide to deliver refined petroleum products directly to …
Experts have called for structural reforms to improve the lives of Nigerians and also boost the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). At a pre-summit dialogue on “Driving State-led Reforms for MSME Growth”, convened recently by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, …
