Tinubu Launches Platform To Link Government With Entrepreneurs

President Bola Tinubu has launched the Renewed Hope Enterprise Bridge Initiative, a new platform designed to serve as a structured channel for continuous engagement between the government and entrepreneurs across the country.

The President said the initiative was conceived to address what he described as a longstanding disconnect between policymakers and business operators, noting that the platform would create a direct interface to bridge that gap.

Speaking on Thursday at the official launch of the initiative and its website at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Tinubu, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said his administration recognised the realities faced by entrepreneurs and the need to align policy with lived business experiences.

“For long, there has been a quiet disconnect between those who make policy and those who must navigate it daily. One side works with framework and projections, the other works with immediacy and risk. Bringing both into the same room is not symbolic. It is necessary.

“If policy is to be useful, it must be informed by lived experience. And if enterprise is to thrive, it must be supported by a system that understands it,” he said.

The President stressed that effective governance requires close engagement with stakeholders, insisting that no government can design effective responses from a distance if it is determined to get it right.

“Therefore, we must listen carefully, interrogate honestly and respond deliberately. You cannot treat what you have not properly diagnosed. And you cannot diagnose without listening.

“Across this country, businesses operate under conditions that would test even the most established system elsewhere. Yet, you persist. You build. You employ. You adapt. That contribution is not lost on us,” he added.

Tinubu commended Nigerian entrepreneurs for sustaining economic activity under challenging conditions and assured that his administration remains attentive to their needs.

“At the same time, we are conscious that policy must do more than exist on paper. It must translate into real improvement in how businesses start, grow, and compete. That is why today matters,” he said.

He further assured that engagement would be sustained, noting that the initiative is designed to ensure continuous dialogue rather than a one-off interaction.

“The establishment of the Renewed Hope Enterprise Bridge Initiative is intended to ensure that this is not a one-off conversation, but a continuing line of engagement between the government and entrepreneurs.

“And it has led, second, to this dialogue — a deliberate effort to bring the people who shape policy into the same room with those who live with its consequences,” the President stated.

Earlier, the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, highlighted the potential of the creative sector, describing it as a major driver of foreign investment and entrepreneurship development.

She said the Tinubu administration has been working to strengthen infrastructure investment and policy frameworks to boost investor confidence.

“Creative and digital economy are the two sectors that have the most ability to give the return that entrepreneurs are looking for because those are two industries that have the ability to give huge returns more than any other sector,” Musawa said.

In her opening remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development, Chalya Shagaya, said the initiative reflects Tinubu’s consistent belief in the role of entrepreneurs as drivers of national growth.

She noted that the administration is committed to building an inclusive economy that supports job creation and innovation.

“It is what has made this engagement possible. If we are to achieve our national ambition of building a trillion-dollar economy, then entrepreneurs must be at the centre of the conversation consistently, deliberately and meaningfully,” she said.

Shagaya added that ongoing reforms are aimed at easing compliance and expanding access to finance through institutions such as the Bank of Industry, with a strong focus on inclusion.

“This administration, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, is serious about impact and we recognise that we must build with the people who are doing the work. As we move forward with the Renewed Hope Enterprise Bridge initiative, this is not a one-time engagement. It marks the beginning of a more open, responsive, and collaborative approach,” she stated.

Speaking on the theme of the event, “Hustle Meets Policy,” she said the daily realities of entrepreneurs—marked by early mornings, uncertainty, risk and resilience—must be reflected in policy design and implementation.

“For too long, however, that lived reality has not always been adequately reflected in how policy is conceived or implemented. That is why today is important,” she added.

Shagaya also acknowledged the support of Vice President Kashim Shettima in promoting enterprise development, as well as the contributions of the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Gbajabiamila, and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, in making the initiative a reality.