‘Empowering SMEs Key To Nigeria’s Economic Growth’

The founder and convener of the Small-Scale Enterprises Lab (SSE Lab), Mrs Desola Jimmy-Eboma, has emphasised that the future of Nigeria’s economy depends largely on the creativity and resilience of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

Jimmy-Eboma stated this at the MBA Business Shower: Cohort 2 Graduation and Business Showcase held in Lagos, with the theme ‘Innovation, Inclusion, Impact: Redefining MSMEs in Nigeria’s Economy’.
SSE Lab is a business development and empowerment platform created to nurture and grow micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa. The Lab supports entrepreneurs from idea discovery to full business execution and scaling, with a strong focus on practicality, sustainability, and structure.

She noted that empowering small business owners not only fuels their entrepreneurial dreams but also builds the foundation of sustainable prosperity for generations to come.

“Today, we celebrate not just the graduation of entrepreneurs but the birth of new enterprises that will shape industries, create jobs, and contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth,” she said.

Jimmy-Eboma explained that the Manufacturing Business Accelerator (MBA) programme was designed with a singular mission to equip small-scale entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools, and mentorship needed to transform ideas and side hustles into scalable, sustainable ventures.

“In just ninety days, our participants’ journey through a process of discovery, validation, and execution, emerging with products ready for market and businesses ready to thrive,” she added.

She pointed out that “the Business Showers are more than a graduation ceremony; they are a Launchpad, a place where innovation meets opportunity, where courage meets recognition, and where small beginnings are fuelled into great enterprises.”

She further called for consistent support for small business owners to enable them to grow into sustainable success stories that would resonate within and beyond the nation.

Jimmy-Eboma reiterated that the growth and resilience of Nigeria’s small businesses remain crucial to the country’s national economic transformation.

The director-general of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr Charles Odii, commended the initiative and described it as a timely effort to drive the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

Odii who was represented by the Agency’s South-West Coordinator, Olukayode Shode, said the economy needs more ideas and platforms that will promote innovation and sustainability among small businesses.

He noted that developing the MSME sector requires a collective commitment from government, individuals and corporate bodies.

“We must go beyond mere words and move to action in developing the MSME ecosystem. The more we put our hands on deck, the more we can achieve for MSMEs in Nigeria,” he added.

The head of retail and SME banking at NOVA Bank, Esther Obiekwe, said Nigeria’s economic resilience lies not in oil, but in entrepreneurial diversity.

According to Obiekwe, every time an MSME scales, exports a product, or substitutes an import, Nigeria takes a step toward self-sufficiency.

She argued that every MSME empowered represents jobs created, families sustained, and communities transformed, saying, “Nigeria’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises represent over 90 per cent of businesses, 80 of employment, and contribute nearly half of our GDP.”