MTN, Small Businesses Agency Partner To Boost 40m SMEs In Digital Growth, Job Creation

MTN Nigeria and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have signed a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the growth, digital capacity, and sustainability of Nigeria’s 40 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Speaking at the signing ceremony held in Lagos, the chief operating officer, MTN Nigeria, Ayham Moussa, reiterated MTN’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic development.

He stated that MSMEs are the lifeline of Nigeria’s economy, saying that “SMEs are the backbone of the economy and the backbone of employment in Nigeria. We are delighted to power SMEDAN’s platform and provide tools that help MSMEs reach customers, obtain funding, and access wider markets. This collaboration serves both our business and social development objectives.”

The chief enterprise business officer, MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, described the “MoU as a tool to meet SMEs at the point of their needs.”

She noted that nano, micro, small, and medium businesses each require different resources to scale.

She stated, “some SMEs need guidance, some need resources; others need opportunities or workforce support. This platform allows them to access whatever they need. We are committed to identifying opportunities across financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and capacity building that help SMEs to scale.”

The director-general of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, emphasised the significance of the collaboration, noting that the agency cannot meet its mandate without leveraging technology and private-sector expertise.

He said, “we have approximately 40 million MSMEs in Nigeria, and only about 400 SMEDAN staff. We cannot fulfil our mandate without technology, data, and strong partners. MTN already has the infrastructure and tools to support MSMEs from payments to identity, hosting, learning, and more. With this partnership, we are confident we can achieve in a short time what would have taken years.”

Odii added that SMEDAN has already created over 100,000 jobs within its two-year administration and expects the partnership to significantly boost job creation, business expansion, and nationwide enterprise modernisation.

The partnership will feature joint initiatives focused on digital inclusion, financial access, capacity building, and providing verified information for MSMEs. With millions of small businesses depending on accurate guidance and easy-to-access support, MTN and SMEDAN say their shared platform will address gaps in communication, misinformation, and access to opportunities.