The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has launched a new entrepreneurship programme aimed at supporting more than 100,000 young Nigerians annually as the Federal Government seeks to boost youth participation in the economy.
The initiative, known as the Building Resilient Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs Project (BRYNE), was unveiled as part of SMEDAN’s activities to commemorate International Youth Day 2026.
The programme will provide young entrepreneurs with access to enterprise training, incubation, mentorship, financing, market opportunities and business development support through both physical and digital platforms.
According to the agency, the initiative is designed to address the challenges young entrepreneurs face in accessing appropriate support at different stages of building and expanding their businesses.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, disclosed this in a statement issued by the agency’s Corporate Affairs Unit on Friday.
Odii said BRYNE would provide practical support to young Nigerians with business ideas as well as those already operating businesses.
He explained that the programme would reach more than 100,000 young Nigerians every year through a combination of physical and digital interventions.
The SMEDAN boss said the initiative would bring together various opportunities, including training, incubation, financing, market access and mentorship, to help young entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses and create jobs.
The Head of SMEDAN’s Women and Youth Unit, Deputy Director Bimpe Fawale, said the programme would be implemented through four major channels designed to take enterprise support closer to young people in communities, tertiary institutions and online.
Under the SMEDAN Incubation Programme, 600 young entrepreneurs will receive annual support in sectors such as fashion, woodwork and agriculture through the agency’s network of Industrial Development Centres across the country.
The Campus Enterprise Engagement Platform, being implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education, will also take entrepreneurship support directly to tertiary institutions.
The platform will offer practical business workshops, advisory sessions, networking opportunities and exhibitions for student-owned businesses, with up to 3,000 participants targeted per participating campus.
Another component, BRYNE Digital Connect, will provide entrepreneurship education through digital platforms while promoting innovation, youth-led enterprises and grassroots businesses. It will also connect entrepreneurs with wider markets and create online enterprise communities.
The programme will also feature a weekly startup hackathon targeting 5,000 young entrepreneurs. Fifty-two winners will be selected, with each winner receiving N250,000 in seed funding.
Fawale explained that BRYNE was structured to support entrepreneurs according to their individual needs and stages of business development.
She noted that while some young people needed assistance to transform ideas into viable businesses, others required financing, mentorship, improved market access or relevant business information.
SMEDAN said beneficiaries would also be connected to business formalisation services, funding opportunities, mentors, investors, markets, business information and export opportunities through the agency and its partners.
The agency said the programme forms part of its broader efforts to equip young Nigerians with the skills and resources needed to establish sustainable businesses, grow existing enterprises and create employment opportunities.
