FG Disbursed $200m to MSMEs in 2025, Plans National Census to Boost Sector

The Federal Government has announced plans to scale up support for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in 2026, following the disbursement of $200 million to small businesses and exporters in 2025.

According to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, over 115,000 MSMEs benefited from grants, loans, and trade finance interventions through the Bank of Industry, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council during the past year.

In its 2026 outlook, the ministry revealed that a National MSME Census would be conducted to strengthen the database of operators, improve targeting of incentives, and deepen access to finance. The census is expected to replace estimates with verifiable data and provide a reliable foundation for industrial planning.

Census to Strengthen Data Integrity

The ministry identified the census as Priority 1 for 2026 under a broader reform agenda focused on disciplined implementation and closer integration of trade, investment, and industrial policy.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, described 2025 as a turning point in Nigeria’s trade and industrial trajectory, marked by deliberate execution and renewed confidence.

“Guided by the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency President Bola Tinubu, the ministry focused on delivery by strengthening facilitation, coordination, and outcomes,” Oduwole stated.

Investment, Trade Performance in Focus

The minister disclosed that total capital importation reached approximately $21 billion in the first ten months of 2025, a significant increase from $12.3 billion in 2024 and $3.9 billion in 2023.

She noted that the ministry curated a pipeline of over $5 billion in bankable projects, conducted more than 150 bilateral and investor engagements, and tracked over $50 billion in signed commitments from presidential engagements, with about 25 per cent progressing towards implementation.

On trade, Oduwole revealed that Nigeria recorded total trade of N113.03 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025, with exports valued at N66.16 trillion, representing an over 11 per cent year-on-year increase and sustaining a positive trade balance.

She attributed the gains to the gazetting of Nigeria’s AfCFTA tariff schedule, the launch of an air cargo corridor to East and Southern Africa, and targeted support to over 100 MSMEs for export certification and market readiness.

Non-oil exports exceeded $6 billion, an 11 per cent year-on-year increase, while freight costs dropped by about 50 per cent and export processing times reduced to under 24 hours.

Women-Led Businesses, Long-Term Finance Priority

The Minister of State for Industry, Mr John Enoh, emphasised that lessons from 2025 reinforced the urgency of strengthening MSME data and execution frameworks.

“Data gaps undermine good intentions. The absence of reliable MSME data constrained planning, targeting, and evaluation, reinforcing the urgency of a national MSME census,” Enoh said.

He stressed that inclusion is an economic imperative, noting that women-led enterprises show strong resilience and impact but face disproportionate barriers to long-term finance, a gap that must be addressed deliberately.

The ministry listed dedicated financing frameworks for women-led industrial and MSME enterprises as Priority 4 for 2026, aimed at addressing access to patient capital and integrating them into priority value chains.

Other priorities outlined in the 2026 agenda include the Made-in-Nigeria National Campaign, industrial cluster development, cotton, textile, and garment value chain transformation, AI and digital industrial governance, review of privatised industries, and the Industrial Revolution Working Group Ministerial Roundtable.

Enoh warned against fragmentation across agencies and stakeholders, stating that industrial progress is slowed when ministries, departments, agencies, states, financiers, and private actors operate in silos.

“Coordinated platforms like the Industrial Revolution Working Group proved essential,” he added.