KASUWANCI — HANYAR ARZIKI
We Investigate. We Understand. We Reveal What Is Happening.
Special Investigation by Alfijir Labarai
Tuesday, 29 September 2026
SMEDAN AND SMALL BUSINESSES:
SUPPORT, TRAINING AND ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES — WHO IS BENEFITING?
From Government Programmes to the Marketplace:
What Can a Business Owner in Kano Actually Access?
INTRODUCTION
Last week, Alfijir Labarai examined the budget of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the new industrial policy, Nigeria’s international trade, and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.
But business does not end at the level of ministries and policies.
At the grassroots are small business owners, artisans, manufacturers, traders and service providers who need capital, training, markets, technology and opportunities to expand their businesses.
This week, our investigation turns to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria — SMEDAN.
The central question is:
Are government programmes designed to support small businesses reaching the grassroots, and through what channels can business owners benefit?
1. SMEDAN AND A NEW APPROACH TO TAKING BUSINESS SUPPORT TO THE GRASSROOTS
On 21 September 2026, SMEDAN and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, signed a partnership aimed at strengthening the delivery of MSME development programmes to Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
According to SMEDAN, the partnership is intended to help identify businesses and entrepreneurs within communities and connect them with government programmes, access to finance, training and other business-development support.
The partnership also identifies One Local Government One Product — OLOP — as one of the programmes to be strengthened at the local-government level.
This raises an important question:
Will the new approach make it easier for small business owners at the local-government level to access SMEDAN programmes?
2. OLOP: WHAT CAN A LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEVELOP?
SMEDAN has included One Local Government One Product — OLOP — among its programmes for developing small and medium-sized businesses.
The programme focuses on strengthening local products and economic activities that have the potential to become competitive within specific local government areas.
Under the new SMEDAN-ALGON partnership, the agency says OLOP will help identify products and economic activities in which local governments have potential, while linking them with markets and business-development opportunities.
This is where the Alfijir Labarai investigation will move closer to Kano:
Which products or businesses have the potential to become economic strengths in specific local government areas of Kano State?
And if such products are selected for support, who will actually benefit?
3. IT IS NOT ONLY ABOUT MONEY: TRAINING AND SKILLS ALSO MATTER
SMEDAN operates a range of programmes focused on training and building the capacity of MSMEs.
Among the programmes listed by the agency are the MSMEs Digital Academy, the National Business Skills Development Initiative and other capacity-building programmes.
For example, the MSMEs Digital Academy provides training in areas such as digital marketing, e-commerce, cybersecurity and other modern skills that can help business owners use technology to develop their businesses.
Therefore, business support does not necessarily have to mean direct cash payments.
It can also include:
Training.
Business management skills.
Digital skills.
Business advisory support.
Market linkages.
But the investigative question remains:
How many business owners are actually gaining access to these programmes, and what measurable outcomes can be established?
4. CONDITIONAL GRANT SCHEME: WHAT DOES THE PROGRAMME PROVIDE?
SMEDAN also describes its Conditional Grant Scheme for Micro Enterprises — CGS — as a programme designed to support nano businesses at the local-government level.
According to the agency’s description, the programme provides a ₦50,000 grant to eligible beneficiaries who meet the programme’s conditions, including a requirement to employ at least one person as part of the employment-generation objective.
However, Alfijir Labarai will not interpret this information as evidence that every business owner in Kano has received, or will automatically receive, the ₦50,000 grant.
What the investigation needs to establish is:
Who is eligible?
How does a business owner apply?
Who has been selected?
How much has been disbursed?
And where has it been disbursed?
This is the difference between describing a programme and establishing evidence of the benefit actually received by a business owner.
5. A NEW MARKET OPPORTUNITY: GROW NIGERIAN 2026
Another development business owners should pay attention to is the SMEDAN National MSME Conference 2026, themed “The Next Frontier for Innovation, Policy and Market Access.”
The conference website states that it will take place from 8 to 10 November 2026 at the Ecobank Pan African Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The programme includes an MSME Marketplace with 156 exhibition spaces in total, including 30 spaces available through an application process. The website states that the deadline for applications for exhibition spaces is 3 October 2026.
There is also a Zero to 100 Pitch Competition with a total prize pool of ₦50 million:
₦25 million for first place.
₦15 million for second place.
₦10 million for third place.
The deadline for applications to participate in the pitch competition is 10 October 2026.
However, one important clarification is necessary:
Applying to participate does not mean that a business owner has automatically been guaranteed an exhibition space or a prize. SMEDAN states that applications are subject to selection and assessment under the applicable criteria.
6. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR A BUSINESS OWNER IN KANO?
Based on the information reviewed, there are different opportunities that business owners can explore through SMEDAN programmes.
These include:
MSMEDAN programmes for MSME development.
Training and capacity building.
Digital skills and e-commerce.
OLOP and the development of local products.
Market-access and exhibition opportunities.
Business competitions and opportunities to seek financial support.
However, the existence of these programmes alone does not establish that a business owner has benefited.
There must be evidence that the person participated, was selected, or received a specific form of support or service.
7. WHAT HAS OUR INVESTIGATION ESTABLISHED SO FAR?
The information reviewed establishes that:
– SMEDAN and ALGON have signed a new partnership aimed at strengthening the delivery of MSME programmes to Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
– OLOP is among the programmes identified as part of efforts to strengthen local economic activities and products at the local-government level.
– SMEDAN operates training and capacity-building programmes for MSMEs, including the MSMEs Digital Academy.
– SMEDAN describes the Conditional Grant Scheme as a programme designed to support nano businesses subject to specific conditions.
– The National MSME Conference 2026 provides opportunities for marketplace participation and the Zero to 100 Pitch Competition, subject to the applicable selection and assessment process.
Therefore, our investigation will continue to distinguish between:
WHAT HAS BEEN DESIGNED
WHAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED
AND
WHAT THE BUSINESS OWNER HAS ACTUALLY RECEIVED.
8. WHAT WE WILL EXAMINE NEXT
In the next edition, Alfijir Labarai will move to the Kano level.
We will examine specific programmes and institutions that support small businesses and seek answers to questions such as:
Who is eligible?
How does one register?
Who has been selected?
What was provided?
And what has actually changed in the business?
Because ultimately, the question is not simply:
“Is there a government support programme?”
The question is:
“Can a business owner access the programme, receive what was promised, and provide evidence of the benefit received?”
KASUWANCI — HANYAR ARZIKI
We Investigate. We Understand. We Reveal What Is Happening.
From Alfijir Labarai
ALFIJIR LABARAI
Accurate • Timely • Trusted
SOURCES
SMEDAN — SMEDAN/ALGON Partnership to Take Enterprise Support to Nigeria’s Grassroots.
SMEDAN — Our Programmes.
SMEDAN — Conditional Grant Scheme for Micro Enterprises.
SMEDAN — MSMEs Digital Academy.
SMEDAN National MSME Conference 2026 — GROW Nigerian.
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