SMEDAN Brokers ₦12bn Loans for Small Businesses, Targets 250,000 Businesses

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says it is brokering ₦12 billion in single-digit loans for small businesses.

This is as it targets the formalisation of 250,000 enterprises in 2026.

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, disclosed this on Wednesday during the agency’s 2025 annual engagement, noting that 2026 would mark the rollout of initiatives developed over the past 18 to 24 months.

“Good things take time, and 2026 is going to unfold all the good things that we’ve worked on for the last 18 to 24 months,” he said.

According to him, the agency plans to hand over 250,000 newly registered businesses in 2026 and is also pushing for presidential approval to register an additional one million enterprises.

“In 2026, we will hand over 250,000 new registered businesses, and we are pushing to the presidency for another one million,” he said.

The SMEDAN boss said Nigeria currently has about 39.6 million nano, micro, small and medium enterprises, adding that the figure is expected to rise as the formalisation process unfolds.

Odii also announced that SMEDAN would unveil a revised National MSME Policy in 2026 following the expiration of the current policy framework.

“The last one was done in 2021, and by December 31 it should be reviewed. That review process is ongoing right now,” he stated.

He stressed that small business owners would be actively involved in shaping the new policy.

“We cannot sit behind the desk here at SMEDAN and write the policies that will govern the small businesses in the 36 states and the FCT. We want the small businesses to be involved,” he said.

On financing, the Director-General said the ₦12 billion funding being brokered would be provided at single-digit interest rates, with the highest rate at 9.5 per cent.

“Anything above a single digit, I’m not going to be a part of it,” he said.

He disclosed that about 500,000 small businesses have already accessed funding, adding that SMEDAN plans to significantly increase that number to reflect the size of Nigeria’s MSME sector.

The agency also outlined plans to expand capacity development by scaling up training under its ICSS curriculum in 2026.

“In the year 2026, we’re going to double that or quadruple that. We’re going to train a lot of small businesses to be able to unlock access,” he said.

On infrastructure, SMEDAN said it is working with state governments and partners to replicate MSME facilities nationwide, noting that improved access to infrastructure would help tackle unemployment and insecurity.

“If our people are employed and doing business, they won’t pick up arms,” the Director-General said.

He added that several initiatives would begin rolling out from the first quarter of 2026, while the agency is also seeking regulatory approvals to establish microfinance banks and a monotechnic focused on entrepreneurship education.