The Deputy director/Head, Corporate Affairs, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, (SMEDAN), Moshood Lawal, has said the agency’s GROW initiative is providing small business owners with guidance, resources, opportunities and workforce support to help them grow, scale their operations and improve access to government interventions.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE NEWS, Lawal said the initiative is designed to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises through business advisory services, financing, market access, equipment support and workforce development, while encouraging entrepreneurs to scale their businesses through collaboration and cooperative structures.
“What SMEDAN has decided to do right now, one of the avenues we are using is, we are using business membership organizations. Okay? We have NASME, NASSI, the African Women Entrepreneurs, and a lot of these networks. We’ll be able to ensure that 1, 2, 3, 5 persons are able to be reached in terms of business advisory services, financing, market access, and equipment. That’s—especially when we have a mantra created by the current Director-General called GROW. We are providing for them guidance, we are providing for them resources, we are providing opportunities and workforce support,” he shared.
Responding to concerns over whether ₦50,000 is still sufficient to start a business in today’s economy, Lawal maintained that the amount can make a meaningful difference for certain micro-enterprises when provided as a grant rather than a loan.
Drawing from a recent SMEDAN intervention involving about 500 women in Abuja, he said beneficiaries, including maize, groundnut and plantain sellers, indicated that the funds would enable them to buy goods in bulk, reduce daily transport costs and improve their businesses.
“I’ll tell you emphatically yes, #50,000 can is enough, because we just did another round on Monday. And actually, we cumulatively were able to distribute like 2.5 million naira to about 500 women in the barracks, for the widows and spouses of the armed personnel.
“We still took that questionnaire out there: ‘Okay, well, 50,000 naira is sufficient.’ I’ll tell you the categories. They are actually selling maize. When they go to the farm to buy this maize, it’s within the range of 35 to 40. Now, they go back daily to buy that maize the next day after selling to people. That’s one. The groundnut sellers, we do have them that are doing this. We have those selling a bunch of plantains. So we did take that survey. Cumulatively, it was 2.5, but we varied the sum around.
“Most of them said, ‘I am okay with 50,000 naira on the condition that it is a grant.’ What people are mixing it up is, if it’s going to be a loan, it’s going to be a very hard thing for them. But once it’s a grant, it takes a lot of burden off going daily to the market, that transport cost of going in the evening to the market to sell the next morning is taken off, because you can then buy in bulk. That’s the idea behind talking 50,000 naira,” he explained.
On how SMEDAN monitors grant beneficiaries, Lawal said the agency tracks transactions through the banking system after disbursing funds. He explained that recipients are required to open bank accounts before receiving grants, allowing SMEDAN to monitor fund utilisation over three to six months while promoting financial inclusion among small business owners.
“What usually happens is, most of them do not have accounts. So one of the preconditions for giving them this money is, you need to have an account. So we bring in financial institutions, open an account for them, zero naira. We put the 50,000 naira in that account. They’re expected to have an ATM card. You’re not to pull out the 50,000 naira entirely. You’re expected to take the first 25,000, 20,000, whatever you do.”
Lawal further said women tend to manage business grants more effectively over time, citing a recent survey which, according to him, showed that funds given to women were more likely to be sustained. He added that beneficiaries who successfully manage the ₦50,000 grant for three months may qualify for additional support of up to ₦150,000, although many struggle with keeping proper business records needed to access further assistance.
“A recent survey has actually shown that most times when we give women money, it survives over a period of time more than the male folks. It’s been proven. Now, over a period of time, this system is created in such a way that once you get 50,000 naira and you’re able to do three months turning over that money, you’re entitled to 150,000 naira. But most often than not, it is few of them that are patient enough to manage their records, keep their books to be able to—I won’t lie. Most often than not, we have difficulties with them writing, how they can make their purchases, their sales. But when we are able to meet you on the field, the akara seller has been there for 10 years, 5 years. You’ll find their daughters and sons also joining them,” he shared.
Addressing complaints by farmers in Bwari Area Council of the FCT that they were denied access to federal government interventions because they were not indigenes, Lawal acknowledged that such cases exist, attributing them to local political structures and patronage.
“No, that’s not the first time. Unfortunately, the Nigerian system is created in such a way where there are structures across board. So most often than not, when federal government comes with an intervention, let’s say the local government chairman will say, ‘Okay, give me the one for my people, give me the one for my people.’ But in the case of FCT, especially the city capital, it’s usually not as divided as when you have the extremes like Abaji, Kwali, and all that, where you have indigenous persons occupying offices who are actually capitalizing on using those things for political patronage. We do have such instances,” he acknowledged.
He, however, said entrepreneurs can overcome such barriers by forming independent cooperatives or joining recognised business membership organisations, adding that SMEDAN is increasingly working through these groups to deliver support more transparently and reach a wider range of beneficiaries.
“But why the federal government is also interested in producing solutions in terms of information dissemination is, most of these people do not actually know their rights. Like someone says, ‘They say we should form cooperatives,’ then we say, ‘Well, you can actually form your own independent cooperative outside any indigenous one for businesses.’ We have several business membership organizations owned by women who are naturally not from the indigenous sectors, but they are doing very well. So information is another very critical thing that it’s better to know that, look, form your own. You don’t have to have the indigenous groups in form. Form your own and say, ‘We are Women Farmers Association.’”, he urged.
Highlighting the benefits of collaboration, Lawal said SMEDAN is encouraging small business owners to form cooperatives to improve production, packaging and access to export markets.
He cited the example of women who export spices, shea butter and kuli-kuli to China, explaining that collective production enables roadside businesses to meet international standards and scale beyond local markets.
“I can tell you for a fact that recently we took some women to China. And they took spices, shea butter, and Kuli-kuli. It was packed. What was different is that usually, those ones are used to packaging purely refined products.
“If you have 15 women producing Kuli-kuli by the roadside, and you have one similar woman as the leader, we can stimulate all of them into a good production process. Collectivity enables them to bring a well-packaged product that will be acceptable globally. They won’t be talking about the 50,000 Naira; they will be talking about exporting for a particular group of women producing peanut cakes for the global market. The same thing is happening for shea butter in Niger State, and the same thing is happening for rice in Keffi.
“What we normally fight is: do not look at individualism as your end result, or you won’t be able to grow. Let’s come together and grow,” he urged.
Favour Odima