The Director-General of Nigeria’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mt. Charles Odii, has reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through skills development, business formalisation, shared production facilities and improved access to business support services.
Declaring open the World MSMEs Day exhibition, where beneficiaries showcased products developed through SMEDAN’s training and empowerment programmes. Odii said that the agency had adopted a more consultative approach by engaging directly with traders and entrepreneurs before designing intervention programmes.
“It is not okay for us to sit in comfortable offices and make policies for market women and men without understanding their challenges,” he said.
He said that SMEDAN remained committed to accountability by regularly engaging the media and civil society organisations to review its programmes and offer constructive feedback.
According to him, the agency will continue to partner stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s MSMEs ecosystem and ensure interventions reached deserving entrepreneurs across the country.
Odii also declared open the World MSMEs Day exhibition, where beneficiaries showcased products developed through SMEDAN’s training and empowerment programmes.
He said that the exhibition demonstrated the impact of the agency’s interventions in helping entrepreneurs acquire skills, establish businesses and expand their operations.
Meanwhile, the Social Transparency and Youth Leadership Advancement Initiative (STYLAI), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), has urged the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to expand its intervention programmes beyond Abuja and state capitals.
The Executive Director of STYLAI, Mr. Jacob Okpanachi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja that an expanded programme would enable entrepreneurs in rural communities participate in SMEDAN’s intervention programmes.
Speaking on the sidelines of the celebrations marking the 2026 World MSMEs Day, organised by SMEDAN in Abuja, Okpanachi stated that many farmers and rural business owners are unaware of SMEDAN’s programmes and lack access to information needed to benefit from government initiatives.
“I think there should be a better way to reach them because those in rural communities are more in number than those in the city centres,” he said.
He commended the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) for being transparent in its programmes.
Okpanachi said that the organisation partnered with SMEDAN to ensure transparency and accountability in the agency’s engagement with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
He said that SMEDAN had significantly improved its processes, making CSOs more confident in the agency’s delivery of interventions.
“From what we have seen, the processes of engaging small business owners are becoming more transparent and accountable,” he said.
According to him, the initiatives include interest-free business financing through organised groups and the agency’s partnership with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to support business formalisation.
He said that the interventions would encourage more entrepreneurs to register their businesses and access government support.
GIK/APA