The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Sen. John Owan Enoh, has called for the establishment of a legal framework to regulate and support the operations of Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) in Nigeria.
He made the call during the induction ceremony of newly certified BDSPs, organized by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on Monday in Abuja.
According to the minister, the lack of a binding law to govern BDSPs remains a significant gap in Nigeria’s MSME support ecosystem and must be urgently addressed to ensure accountability, performance, and long-term sustainability.
“There has to be a law that supports and backs BDSPs because of the importance of the job they are expected to do,” Enoh stated.
Sen. Enoh highlighted that Nigeria’s challenge is not the absence of support systems for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), but rather the failure of existing systems to function effectively due to weak regulation and institutional inefficiencies.
“Our problem is not the absence of systems; it is the failure of those systems to work. Regulation is weak, and we tend to create new structures instead of strengthening existing ones,” he said.
The minister further emphasized that certified BDSPs must be subject to performance-based evaluations, with regular monitoring and potential license revocation if they fall short of expectations.
“Licenses must not be permanent. They must be performance-based,” he added.
Sen. Enoh commended SMEDAN for its efforts to standardize and professionalize enterprise development services, noting that this will play a key role in improving the quality of support available to small businesses.
He also called on development partners, donor agencies, and financial institutions to actively engage with and utilize the services of certified BDSPs to enhance support delivery to MSMEs across the country.
In his remarks, SMEDAN Director-General, Mr. Charles Odii, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to deepening support for MSMEs through a network of qualified, credible, and well-trained service providers.
“Only credible professionals who meet our standards will be allowed to provide development services,” Odii stated, encouraging the newly inducted BDSPs to take their roles seriously and uphold professionalism.
The National Steering Committee on BDSPs disclosed that a total of 331 service providers were inducted after completing rigorous training and assessment. The ceremony marked a major milestone in the government’s efforts to build a stronger enterprise support infrastructure and enhance economic inclusion nationwide.
