‘To grow their businesses’ — SMEDAN awards female entrepreneurs over N1.5m grants

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says N1.5 million grants were given to five female entrepreneurs in Lagos.

In a statement on Tuesday, SMEDAN said the grants were given at the first edition of its Speed Pitch Competition at the Eko Convention Center in Lagos on May 1.

Speaking on the competition, Charles Odii, director-general of SMEDAN, who introduced the initiative, said it was an important opportunity to enhance the financial literacy of female entrepreneurs and provide lessons on how to organise and market their businesses to attract funding.

He also said SMEDAN was ready to stage the competition in other states of the country to expose more deserving SMEs to funding and recognition.

“SMEDAN will organise masterclasses for SMEs on how to structure and pitch their businesses. This will involve some of the most successful founders and business managers,” he said.

“The goal is to ensure that SMEs gain access to knowledge and mentorship to maximise other resources and support we will be providing, including finance and tools.”

According to SMEDAN, the five shortlisted businesses for the first edition of the pitch competition made presentations on why their businesses deserved the financial grants.

“At the end of the pitch, and after receiving feedback from the judges who graded the presentations based on key metrics involving storytelling and business potential, Kanyinsola Demola-Seriki of Shea Tribe was announced the winner of the competition, receiving the prize of N1 million for her business,” he said.

“In second position was Ogunkoya Goodness Adeola of Eco-Haven, an eco-friendly waste management company, who won the sum of 500,000 naira. Ahmod Mistura of Jumish ICT Services came third, winning 250,000 naira in grants. The other two participants, Eccentric Menswear and Ayosifam Integrated Service, each received the sum of 150,000 naira.”

The agency further said SMEs are encouraged to follow the agency’s social media platforms for information on other events lined up to support their growth, which forms part of SMEDAN’s ‘GROW Nigerian’ strategy aimed at stimulating local production.

SMEDAN said the initiative intends to also facilitate exports in seven key sectors, including agriculture and food; fashion, textile, hide and skin; creative and digital economy; education and learning; tourism; light manufacturing; and services.

Meanwhile, Odii shared some of the agency’s empowerment programmes and initiatives, including its common facility centres established to lower the cost of production and provide discounted access to modern tools.

Odii said SMEs are central to the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, given that they comprise over 90 percent of businesses in the country and are responsible for most jobs.