The Institute of Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Management and Administration (IEAMA) has urged financial institutions and other stakeholders to make funding more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to strengthen their operations and increase their contribution to Nigeria’s economic growth.

This comes as the Institute announced plans to organise a forum to bring financial institutions and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) together to discuss access to funding, improve financial literacy and explore ways to support sustainable business growth.

The forum, tagged 2026 Finance Meets Entrepreneur (FME), will feature the induction of new members and awards presentations at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Ikeja, Lagos on October 15, 2026.

Speaking at a press briefing ahead of the event, Chairman, FME 2026, Dr Eladiya Damilola, said the event is designed to guide entrepreneurs on how to avoid the bottlenecks often associated with accessing funds from financial institutions, such as compliance, formalisation and governance.

He observed that while access to funding remains a major challenge for many entrepreneurs, the need to address this bottleneck is critical to strengthening operations for them to thrive.

“This conference will, as expected, promote export readiness, sustainable businesses and also encourage authentic financing and structured apprenticeship development,” he said.

Vice President National IEAMA, Dr Samson Adeniyi, said the major challenge confronting many entrepreneurs is not a lack of ideas, noting that Nigerians are naturally innovative and enterprising, but often lack access to appropriate financing, digital tools and the capacity required to turn their ideas into sustainable businesses.

According to him, the initiative would seek to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and financial institutions by helping business owners understand available financial products and how to use funding effectively.