On September 25, 2025, Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by Dr. Tope Fasua, his Special Adviser on Economic Matters, urged Nigerians to align government policies, private sector innovation, and development finance to create a thriving economy where small businesses and industries prosper. Speaking at the 6th Annual Lecture of the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) in Abuja, Shettima emphasized that the lecture’s theme, “Positioning Nigerian MSMEs for Growth in a Dynamic Policy Environment,” aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda. He noted that MSMEs, which account for over 80% of employment and significantly contribute to GDP, are central to Nigeria’s economic growth.
DBN’s Managing Director, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, reported that the bank had disbursed over N1.1 trillion to more than 700,000 MSMEs via 79 Participating Financial Institutions by December 2024. He highlighted that these funds sustain jobs and growth, despite challenges like limited access to finance. Okpanachi pointed to recent initiatives, such as the National Council on MSME, as evidence of renewed support for the sector.
Delivering the lecture, Flora Mutahi, Managing Director of Melvine Teas, encouraged African entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to address the gap between Africa’s 24 million MSMEs (22% of the global total) and their 40% contribution to GDP, compared to 50–60% in India and 53–60% globally for Europe’s SMEs. She cited infrastructure issues, fragmented markets, and Africa’s 1% share of global venture capital as barriers, noting that only 3 million jobs are created annually for 10–12 million young job seekers.
Mutahi advocated for a mindset shift and outlined four key pillars for success: a clear purpose in addressing customer needs, strong business models with advisory support, efficient systems to prevent bottlenecks, and empowering leadership to drive expansion. She concluded that with resilience, innovation, and the right support, African MSMEs could become sustainable drivers of growth and job creation across the continent.
