The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through its Global Environment Facility-Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), has committed $50,000 to kick-start a nationwide initiative aimed at supporting nature-positive Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
The project, unveiled in Abuja yesterday, will be implemented by the International Trade Facilitators Association (ITFA), targeting at least 470 MSMEs across all six geopolitical zones for nine months.
Launched under Support to Potential and Established Nature-Positive MSMEs (SPENM), the initiative seeks to empower environmentally sustainable businesses through training, market access facilitation and preparation for global certification standards.
Trade Ambassador of ITFA, Collins Ezeiruaku, said the project is designed in response to decades of unsustained interventions in the MSME sector and the need to build a lasting framework for non-oil exports and nature-friendly enterprise.
“We conceived this project not just to provide capacity building but to walk hand-in-hand with MSMEs from production to market access. We are targeting those enterprises that directly impact communities like farmers, fishermen, and small-scale processors, helping them become sustainable while contributing to environmental conservation, ” he said.
According to Ezeiruaku, the $50,000 seed fund from UNDP will be released in three tranches based on performance milestones. In addition, he said that the project has attracted another $50,000 worth of in-kind contributions, including logistics support, coaching, and facilities from partner organisations.
Ezeiruaku stressed the importance of the initiative, adding that it aimed to build capacity among nature-positive MSMEs, defined as businesses that integrate environmental sustainability into their operations, such as renewable energy use, waste reduction, and conservation.
Notably, at least 30 per cent of the beneficiaries will be women, with dedicated inclusion for youth, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities.
The UNDP’s programme assistant to the National Coordinator of GEF-SGP, Rose Agbo, said the fund is catalytic in nature, intended to attract future investments and enable beneficiaries to access larger development funding.
“Our vision is to bring out the business components from our sustainability interventions, it’s about transforming social impact into lasting livelihoods, where communities own the process and the profits, ” she said.
Agbo also confirmed that several past projects under the GEF-SGP framework have been successfully upscaled, replicated and linked to broader development networks.
