The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has said Nigeria’s biggest challenge is no longer the availability of funding for startups but the shortage of investment-ready businesses capable of attracting and effectively utilising available capital.
The agency said it is addressing the gap by training a new generation of entrepreneurship instructors to equip young Nigerians with the skills needed to build innovative, technology-driven and globally competitive enterprises.
Speaking at the opening of the two-week Training of Trainers programme under the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) Project in Abuja, the Director of the Director-General’s Office, Mrs. Onesi-Lawani, who represented the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, said the initiative is aimed at producing ACE-certified trainers who will nurture entrepreneurs capable of building scalable businesses.
According to a statement issued on Monday by SMEDAN’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Moshood Lawal, the programme is designed to develop trainers who will mentor young Nigerians in creating sustainable, investment-ready enterprises.
Congratulating the participants, Onesi-Lawani said the selection process was highly competitive, with more than 1,100 applications received.
She explained that the Project Management Consortium shortlisted 80 candidates across the Business Management and Artificial Intelligence tracks before a final round of interviews produced the 30 participants currently undergoing the training.
She urged the participants to maximise the opportunity and become catalysts for developing a new generation of entrepreneurs capable of competing on the global stage.
According to her, although significant funding opportunities exist for Nigerian startups, many businesses fail to attract investment because they lack the structure, innovation, scalability and business models required by investors.
“Significant funding opportunities exist for Nigerian startups, but there remains a shortage of investment-ready businesses capable of attracting available capital. Participants should focus on developing entrepreneurs with the capacity to build globally competitive and scalable enterprises,” she said.
Onesi-Lawani encouraged the trainees to focus on nurturing businesses with the potential to compete beyond Nigeria’s borders and attract international investment.
She identified fintech, agritech, healthtech, logistics and mobility as some of the high-growth sectors the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship Project is targeting.
