Vice President Kashim Shettima says the Tinubu administration is building an enterprise led Nigeria in which micro, small and medium enterprises are raising livelihoods through prosperity created by targeted infrastructure, business grants and economic reforms.
Speaking in Abuja at the 8th National MSME Awards, Shettima, represented by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, said the government was building an entire ecosystem to nurture innovation, provide infrastructure and remove barriers that have long held small businesses back.
He described small businesses as the engine room of the economy, noting that MSMEs make up 90 per cent of all Nigerian businesses and employ more than 60 million people, transforming communities through the prosperity they generate. He urged award winners and entrepreneurs to keep building, promising continued government support.
Outlining results since 2023, Shettima said Expanded National MSME Clinics had reached all six geopolitical zones, and 21 Shared Infrastructure Facilities had supported the creation of 650,000 jobs. On finance, he cited a N75 billion intervention fund and a N50 billion conditional grant scheme, N874 billion disbursed through the Development Bank of Nigeria to about 751,000 women and youth led enterprises, and over N394 billion in export financing through NEXIM.
He added that more than 165,000 artisans had been trained under the Skill-Up Artisans program, and said many of the administration’s interventions were documented in a compendium launched at the event.
