By Ernest Nzor, Abuja
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Mr. Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, on Sunday, revealed that over 827,000 small businesses benefited from federal government MSME hubs in 2024.
It was also noted that the Federal Government is working to cushion the impact of external economic shocks on MSMEs, particularly in response to the recent tariff measures introduced by the United States.
Adekunle-Johnson disclosed this in Abuja, during a conference organized by the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) to mark the 2025 International Women’s Day.
Themed “Accelerate Action” with a sub-theme “Step-Up, Impact Her, Change the World,” the event brought together women entrepreneurs, policymakers, development partners, and business leaders to discuss solutions for empowering women in business and leadership.
He highlighted ongoing efforts to expand MSME support infrastructure, including shared facility hubs across the country.
“Last year, Mr. President announced that we have done 10 facility hubs. These are places where SMEs can go and do business with our international equipment, high city, agriculture, fashion, all sorts of equipment. And by the end of this year, we’ll be on track to do another 8 or 10.
“So, we should had about 20 between last year and this year. That’s a critical job creation. Now, SMEs will go and log in to this place 8 hours a day. You will be guaranteed light. at 9am in the morning, we close at 4 or 5pm. It depends on different centres. You pay a token. It depends on what you want to produce. If you have a contract, a state government gives you a contract to produce uniforms.
“Some of those things like the monogram and dress, you have to pay close to 10,000 to go and use the equipment outside. But if you go and use our facility for about 1,000 Naira, 8 hours a day, you use it for 5 days.
“Basically, you can produce those things there. So, what we do is that we ensure that at least an average of 150 and 200 people can work in the facility a day.
“So, it should be timed so that we’re able to actually accentuate how many SMEs are using it here today. And that’s why we came up and said that over last year, we had done well over 827,000 SMEs that used those facilities. We’re trying to speed up and ensure that the new ones are quickly inaugurated and are put to use.”
He also revealed plans for cold storage facilities in seafood-producing communities and hinted at two major initiatives launching in May, a risk-sharing fund for SME loans and expanded collaboration with state governments and commercial banks to provide access to affordable financing below the current 28–30% interest rate.
In her remarks, NASME’s National Women Coordinator, Beatrice Gangkero Benjamin, called for urgent and targeted action to support women-led businesses.
She said: “Policies are not enough. We need implementation. We need models that are feminine in nature and tailored to the realities of women in rural communities,” she said. “Let’s move past rhetoric and start addressing the structural barriers, lack of electricity, internet access, collateral, and access to funding.”
Also speaking, the ASME President, Dr. Abdulrashid Yerima, echoed the call for practical and inclusive policy implementation.
He called on stakeholders, from government to financial institutions and development partners, to step up with gender-responsive strategies.
Yerima said: “This year’s theme is a reminder that good intentions must be matched with action. We must step up our support systems, from access to finance and mentorship to favorable policies that give women-led SMEs a fair chance to thrive.”
