MTN Nigeria and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at expanding opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises across the country. The signing of the MoU was described as a significant step toward strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurship landscape. Stakeholders from both sides expressed confidence that the collaboration will directly support business owners working to scale their ideas in a competitive environment.
At the heart of the agreement is mySMEville, a digital platform positioned to help businesses access funding, explore new markets, acquire industry knowledge, and adopt essential digital tools. The platform is expected to serve as a central resource for entrepreneurs looking to streamline operations and move from survival to structured growth. With digital adoption becoming crucial for business success, mySMEville offers a gateway for SMEs to participate in the expanding digital economy rather than being left behind.
The initiative goes beyond technology integration. Through mobile money partnerships and financial access programmes, the collaboration seeks to reduce longstanding challenges many small businesses face when trying to access credit, scale payment systems, or reach wider consumer bases. By improving financial inclusion and building digital confidence among entrepreneurs, the partnership could accelerate growth across various sectors, from retail and agribusiness to services and creative industries.
Capacity-building remains an essential part of the agreement, creating room for business advisory support, specialised training, mentorship, and exposure to new knowledge. Entrepreneurs will have opportunities to learn modern business strategies, digital marketing techniques, product development practices, and customer management approaches. Such exposure is timely for SMEs seeking resilience in the face of rising operational costs and global competition.
For Nigeria’s economy, the alliance signals optimism. SMEs constitute a large portion of the country’s workforce, and empowering them means strengthening job creation, innovation and value-chain development. If executed effectively, the MTN–SMEDAN partnership could unlock a new wave of entrepreneurial success stories while positioning small businesses to contribute more meaningfully to GDP.
The development also hints at a broader vision of building an economy driven by digital participation, youth-led enterprises and scalable innovations. With platforms like mySMEville acting as a bridge between resources and business owners, the collaboration stands as an opportunity for thousands of micro and small-business players to grow beyond their locality, connect with markets across Nigeria, and take advantage of emerging regional and global trade opportunities.
