The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has called for the establishment of scalable Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Hubs across the country as part of efforts to convert Nigeria’s improving macroeconomic indicators into jobs, higher incomes and sustainable livelihoods.

President/Chairman of Council of the Institute, Dele Alabi, said the proposed hubs would provide shared infrastructure, business advisory services, skills development, technology support, market linkages and easier access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Alabi proposed the 19th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the CIBN in Abuja, with the theme, ‘Building a Resilient Economy in an Era of Disruptions: Strategic Imperatives for the Banking and Financial Services Industry.’

He said the initiative was particularly important because MSMEs remained central to employment, enterprise development and local value creation, but many businesses continued to face high operating costs, inadequate infrastructure, limited market access, low productivity, skills gaps and slow adoption of digital technologies.

According to him, the proposed hubs would be tailored to the comparative advantages of different regions, enabling entrepreneurs to share facilities, acquire relevant skills, access technology and connect with markets and financial institutions.

The CIBN president said the ultimate objective should be to ensure that recent economic reforms do not remain reflected only in national economic statistics but translate into tangible improvements in the lives of households, workers and small businesses.

He said: “The true test is whether stronger fundamentals translate into lower living costs, more jobs, higher real incomes, affordable credit, reliable public services and reduced poverty.”

Alabi argued that Nigeria’s next phase of economic reform should therefore focus on transmission — moving gains from improved macroeconomic stability to business balance sheets and household budgets.

He said stronger financial institutions must be effectively connected to the real economy, particularly small businesses that can generate employment and expand economic opportunities within local communities.

The CIBN president said the proposed SME hubs could reduce operating costs and improve businesses’ bankability while providing entrepreneurs with the skills and support needed to become more productive and competitive.

He added that the hubs could stimulate innovation, strengthen market linkages and enable recapitalised financial institutions to channel more credit into productive economic activities.

Alabi’s proposal comes against the backdrop of what he described as growing evidence of improved resilience in Nigeria’s economy and financial system.

He noted that 33 banks had met the revised minimum capital requirements, with N4.65 trillion in new capital raised, arguing that the stronger capital base provided banks with an additional buffer against domestic and external shocks.

He also cited Nigeria’s 4.43 per cent year-on-year real GDP growth in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 3.89 per cent in the first quarter, as another indication of improving economic conditions.

However, he stressed that macroeconomic improvements would have limited significance if they failed to generate better economic opportunities for ordinary Nigerians.

He said the focus should increasingly be on how reforms could strengthen businesses, create decent employment, increase household incomes and reduce poverty.

The proposed SME hubs therefore represent a shift from viewing economic resilience solely through the strength of financial institutions and national economic indicators to measuring resilience by businesses’ and households’ ability to withstand economic shocks.

Alabi said the CIBN’s advocacy aligned with its IMPACT Vision, which seeks to move the Institute beyond identifying industry challenges to practical interventions that produce measurable outcomes.

He said the conference provided an opportunity to translate discussions on banking-sector recapitalisation, technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitical risks into practical measures that would strengthen the economy.

The proposed hubs, if implemented, could also provide a platform for vulnerable and underserved entrepreneurs to acquire marketable skills, formalise their businesses, access finance and participate more effectively in the formal economy.

The initiative could consequently broaden the employment impact of Nigeria’s financial-sector reforms by connecting capital with productive enterprises capable of creating and sustaining jobs.

Alabi said the objective should ultimately be to ensure that the benefits of economic reform travel beyond aggregate indicators to stronger businesses, better jobs, higher incomes and more resilient communities.