By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja
The Bola Tinubu’s administration is building a sustainable, enterprise-led Nigeria, where MSMEs are improving livelihoods through the prosperity that is created in targeted infrastructure projects, business-support grants, and economic reforms, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said.
The core vision, according to him, is to decentralize economic opportunities so that prosperity is shared equitably among all citizens.
Senator Shettima, who spoke on Saturday in Abuja during the 8th National MSME Awards Abuja, noted that the administration is building an entire ecosystem that nurtures innovation, provides essential infrastructure, and removes barriers that have historically held back small businesses in Nigeria.
Represented at the event by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, the Vice President urged winners of he awards and every Nigerian entrepreneur to keep building, assuring them of government’s support.
“Nigeria needs your ideas, your jobs, and your leadership. I have no doubt that the Federal Government, along with state governments and our private-sector partners, will continue to build an enterprise-led nation where creativity is rewarded, small businesses grow into conglomerates, and prosperity is shared by all,” he declared.
VP Shettima described small businesses as the engine room of the country, noting that they improve livelihoods of the citizens and transform communities through the prosperity they create.
“90 per cent of all Nigerian businesses are MSMEs. They are the largest employers of labour in this country, providing jobs for over 60 million of our people. Through bold and innovative ideas, and through sweat and courage, our MSMEs are improving the livelihoods of Nigerians and transforming our communities through the prosperity they create,” he observed.
Because the enterprises are very vital to the nation’s economy, the VP identified one of the central pillars of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as creating “an enabling environment in which they can thrive and prosper” instead of confining them to grants and loans.
Outlining some of the successes recorded so far, the Vice President said since 2023, the Expanded National MSME Clinics have partnered with state governments to bring the clinics across all 6 geopolitical zones.
He said the Clinics have enabled small business owners to engage directly with regulatory agencies, financial institutions, and business support organisations, while receiving on-the-spot solutions to their challenges.
He stated: “We have institutionalised 21 state-of-the-art Shared Infrastructure Facilities, providing affordable access to high-speed internet, modern machinery, and collaborative spaces, from digital hubs for our tech innovators to shared production spaces for our fashion designers, and these hubs have supported the creation of 650,000 jobs.
“On the question of financial access, we have moved with deliberate force. Through the ₦75 billion MSME Intervention Fund and the ₦50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme, we have expanded the pool of capital available to our enterprises. Through the Development Bank of Nigeria, we have disbursed ₦874 billion to approximately 751,000 women and youth led MSMEs.
“We have provided over ₦394.88 billion in financing to export-oriented enterprises through the Nigerian Export-Import Bank. And under the Skill-Up Artisans programme, we have trained over 165,000 artisans and equipped them with the resources to flourish.”
On the book launched at the event titled, “Building Nigeria, Empowering MSMEs: A Compendium of the Federal Government’s Initiatives and Interventions for Nigerian MSME Growth,” VP Shettima explained that many of the administration’s efforts to support MSMEs are carefully documented in it.
He said the book stands as a faithful record of President Tinubu’s “commitment to the prosperity of Nigerian enterprise and a guide for all who wish to understand the work we have undertaken.”
He further described the National MSME Awards as a key expression of the broader commitment to the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Across the 7 editions held so far, more than 50 verified small business owners have been recognised and rewarded for their outstanding contributions to our economy.
“This 8th edition we have deliberately themed the Renewed Hope Edition, and with it we have made a clear policy shift. In previous years, excellence was rewarded with cars, shops, or houses alongside cash prizes. Those gestures carried meaning, but we came to recognise that in the face of current global economic shifts, what a growing business needs most is liquid capital,” he added.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSME, Mr Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, said the 2026 edition of the awards was special as it recognised the efforts of persons living with disability as well as some of the most creative enterprises across the country.
For his part, the Director-General of Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, represented by Mrs Phebian Arumemi, selection process for the 2026 National MSMEs Award was rigorous as a total of 13,859 entries across the country.
According to him, the awardees were picked from categories comprising of agriculture, information and technology, creative industries, furniture and woodwork, leather works, beauty, wellness and cosmetics as well as fashion and style, manufacturing and people living with disabilities.
The highpoint of the ocassion included the presentation of the book titled “Building Nigeria, Empowering MSMEs,” written by the Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, Mr. Temitola Johnson and presented by Mr. Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, and the presentation of prizes to the winners MSME awards.
The winners in the 13 categories of the 2026 MSME awards include, Zenith Bank Award of Excellence in Wellness, Beauty and Cosmetics, Myria Gee Ltd; WEMA Bank Award of Excellence in Creative Industry, DX Inception Ltd; National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Award Of Excellence In Agriculture, Fary Business Trade And Supply Company Ltd; NITDA Award of Excellence in Digital Innovation & Technology, Aljamus Technologies And Consulting Services Ltd; Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Award of Excellence in Fashion & Style, Ennie Wears Ltd; South-East Development Commission (SEDC) Award of Excellence in Furniture& Woodwork, Skarabrand Furniture & Decor Solutions; Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) Award of Excellence in Tax Compliance, Olanreforward Foods & Farms Ltd.
Others include Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Award of Excellence in Leather works, Lylocee Designs & Fashion World; Bank of Industry (BOI) Award of Excellence In Manufacturing, Vivido Schone Int’L Ltd; National Credit Guarantee Company Ltd (NCGC) Award of Excellence for People Living with Disabilities, Mdu Ecochange Solution Ltd, NEXIM Award of Excellence; Msme Clinics Male, Kosai Republic; ACCESS BANK Award of Excellence; MSME Clinics Female, Arlecode (Acana Makeover); Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Award of Excellence, and the MSME Of The Year, Olanreforward Foods & Farms Ltd.
