The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has trained more than 6,000 businesses as part of efforts to enhance their capacity, according to the agency’s Director General, Charles Odii.

The training is part of the Inspire–Create–Start–Scale (ICSS) programme designed for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country. The initiative aims to help MSMEs overcome challenges in accessing loans.

Speaking at the launch of the ICSS MSME financing scheme in Abuja, Odii noted that despite the critical role of SMEs in the economy, many still struggle to secure bank loans due to perceptions of high risk, limited structure, and lack of reliable assessment mechanisms.

He explained that the ICSS programme will address these gaps through targeted training sessions, enabling businesses to access finance more effectively. Odii also revealed plans to significantly increase the number of businesses trained in 2026 to expand the financing window further.

He said, “There are approximately 40 million MSMEs in Nigeria. They account for nearly half of our GDP and support tens of millions of livelihoods. And yet, one of the most consistent complaints we receive, not just from entrepreneurs, but from the banks themselves, is that lending to small businesses is too risky. They lack structure. That they lack capacity. There is no reliable way to assess them.

“The ICSS programme is our direct answer to that. Every entrepreneur who has gone through the Inspire–Create–Start–Scale curriculum has been trained, assessed, and certified. They have built business plans. They understand their numbers. They know how to manage cash flow and plan for growth.

“When a bank looks at an ICSS-certified entrepreneur, the guesswork is gone. The risk calculus changes. And that is precisely why Jaiz Bank is here today as our pioneer financial institution, because they understand that a structured entrepreneur is a bankable entrepreneur.”

He further explained that “what SMEDAN is doing today by facilitating a dedicated financing window with loans from ₦250,000 to ₦5 million, backed by post-disbursement advisory and monitoring, is not charity. It is a system. It is how you close the access-to-finance gap permanently, not temporarily.

“This is also the living expression of our GROW Nigerian strategy. GROW stands for Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Support. “Today, we are delivering on all four at once. The ICSS curriculum is the Guidance. The financing window is the Resource. The direct linkage to Jaiz Bank is the Opportunity. And the mentoring and monitoring that follows is the Workforce Support. We are building a pipeline from training to capital to sustainable business growth.”

He commended the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, for his support.

He also commended development partner GIZ and Kaduna Business School, which collaborated with the ICSS curriculum, and also Jaiz Bank for stepping forward as our first financial institution partner.