The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) is redesigning its approach to supporting small businesses, with plans to move away from grants and palliatives toward programmes that build scalable, export-ready enterprises.

Director-General, SMEDAN, Charles Odii, disclosed this at the National Stakeholders Validation Workshop on the Review of the National Policy on MSMEs held in Abuja recently.

Odii, represented by the Acting Director of Policy, Planning, Research and Statistics, Philip Udechu, said the revised policy would shift from fragmented programmes to a unified national delivery architecture for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

He added that the policy would place greater emphasis on productivity, competitiveness, digital transformation, data systems, and enterprises’ capacity to compete at regional and global levels.

According to him, the objective is to create a policy framework that enables MSMEs to thrive, scale and win, rather than merely survive.

Odii said the policy review followed extensive consultations with entrepreneurs and other stakeholders across the country, covering marketplaces, workshops, farms and digital spaces.

He explained that the revised policy would promote formalisation, job creation and enterprise growth, while strengthening partnerships between businesses, financial institutions and development partners. He urged stakeholders to critically examine the draft policy and ensure that the final document reflects the realities and experiences of Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Also speaking, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chris Isokpunwu, said the review of the policy was timely, given changing economic realities, emerging technologies and evolving business models.

Isokpunwu, who was represented by the Director of the Industrial Development Department in the ministry, Olumuyiwa Ajayi, said these developments had made a responsive MSME policy increasingly important.

He noted that MSMEs remained critical to entrepreneurship, job creation, innovation, value creation, and inclusive economic participation. He therefore urged stakeholders to ensure that the revised policy includes strong institutional arrangements, effective coordination mechanisms, and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

Earlier, the Head of Component, SEDIN, GIZ, Omoware Akinropo, stressed that effective implementation would be crucial to achieving the objectives of the revised policy.

Akinropo urged SMEDAN to retain the Technical Working Group beyond the validation stage to support the implementation, monitoring, reporting and coordination of the policy.

He identified weak coordination among the federal, state and local governments as one of the major challenges affecting the implementation of MSME policies in the country.

He assured stakeholders that GIZ would continue to provide technical support to SMEDAN and other relevant stakeholders throughout the implementation process.

Similarly, the Administrative Secretary, National Association of Small and Medium Industries (NASSI), Anum Serumun, urged participants to take advantage of the workshop to strengthen skills, innovation and networking.

According to him, stronger MSMEs would play a significant role in building a more competitive and sustainable Nigerian economy.