By LUCY OGALUE

The Federal Government says it will in May inaugurate a de-risking fund to improve access to affordable financing for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, said this at the 2025 International Women?s Day event organised by Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) on Saturday in Abuja.

According to Adekunle-Johnson, the de-risking fund is part of a broader strategy to address high lending rates and boost small businesses? growth across the country.

?In the month of May, we are going to be launching two very important schemes. One is the de-risking fund for SMEs.

?We are encouraging state governments and our commercial banks to come together to ensure that SMEs are able to get loan facilities for less than the ridiculous 28 per cent or 30 per cent.

?It is not sustainable. So, we are trying to ensure that when the state government brings a facility, we get a commercial bank that will match that fund.

?And you can give it to SMEs at minimal amount. I cannot stand here and say I am guaranteeing 10 per cent or nine per cent, but it is way lower than the 28 per cent of this world,? he said.

Adekunle-Johnson added that the fund would serve as a cushion for SMEs grappling with the impact of international trade challenges, including the 14 per cent tariff imposed by the United States.

He said although the Minister of Finance had addressed the tariff issue, further interventions were underway to support the affected businesses.

In addition, he announced plans by the Federal Government to expand MSMEs shared facility hubs across the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the hubs are places where SMEs could go and do businesses with international equipment for ICT, agriculture and fashion, among others.

?Last year, Mr President announced that we have done 10 facility hubs.

?And by the end of this year we will be on track to do another eight or 10, so we should have about 20 between last year and this year, 2025.

?At a subsidised fee sometimes as low as N1,000 per day, small business owners can use the facilities with guaranteed power supply to meet production targets,? he said.

According to him, each hub is designed to accommodate between 150 and 200 entrepreneurs daily, and more than 120,000 MSMEs have benefited from the initiative in the past year alone.

The presidential aide said that the initiative was managed by the private sector, with government oversight to ensure efficiency and accountability.

The special adviser reiterated the commitment of the Tinubu?s administration to building a vibrant MSMEs ecosystem as a critical pillar for job creation and inclusive economic growth.

Earlier, Dr Abdulrashid Yerima, the President of NASME called for an urgent and practical support for women-owned MSMEs in the country, stressing the need for actionable steps beyond policies.

According to him, women play a pivotal role in Nigeria?s MSME ecosystem and the wider economy.

?We are here today to celebrate our women MSMEs across the world and particularly those within NASME. They are doing very well, and we have been supporting them,? Yerima said.

Citing a World Bank report, Yerima said that women accounted for 55 per cent of the global employment and remained critical to MSMEs growth and GDP contribution.

He identified access to finance, markets, capacity building, and corporate governance as the major challenges facing women entrepreneurs, adding that NASME had prioritised addressing these concerns.

?We present them to development partners and banks, and provide the necessary capacity building.

?We also support them in exports through our Export Readiness Programme,? he said.

Yerima further stated that in spite of trade challenges such as the 40 per cent U.S. tariff, NASME was helping women exporters find alternative markets in Europe, Asia, and within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through the Guided Trade Initiative.

The National Women Coordinator of NASME, Dr Beatrice Benjamin, expressed concern over the poor implementation of women-focused policies, saying,? it was time to rewrite the agenda for female entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

?There are policies to support these women and SMEs, but implementation has been zero.

?We are not here today to list achievements; we are here to demand action.

?We want models and facilities that are feminine and friendly in nature, that speak directly to the needs of women in business,? she said.

Benjamin lamented that most rural women in nano and micro businesses lacked access to basic infrastructure like electricity and internet, further limiting their ability to grow.

?How many rural communities have power? How many women have access to facilities or movable assets to secure funding? We need real action, not more policies,? she added.

Benjamin welcomed the Federal Government?s commitment to engaging more women in SMEs and entrepreneurship, but emphasised that intervention must be deliberate and swift.

?The development banks must create specific programmes for women. Enough of the policies , what we want now is action, and it must be accelerated,? she said.

The NASME event brought together key stakeholders in the MSME space to evaluate the current status of women in business and ensure greater ways of inclusivity and economic empowerment. (NAN)

?PHOTO: L-R; The Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, Temitola Adekunle-Johnson and President of NASME, Dr Abdulrashid Yerima at the 2025 International Women?s Day event organised by NASME on Saturday in Abuja

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