The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has expressed interest in scaling up the activities of the Small-Scale Enterprise Lab (SSE Lab) to a national level, recognising its role in advancing entrepreneurship through the Manufacturing Business Accelerator (MBA) initiative.
Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, represented by the Lagos State Manager, Dr. Olubunmi Kole-Dawodu, made this known during the MBA Business Shower Cohort 2 Graduation and Business Showcase in Lagos, themed “Innovation, Inclusion and Impact: Redefining MSMEs in Nigeria’s Economy.”
Odii described SSE Lab’s efforts as aligned with SMEDAN’s mission to strengthen Nigeria’s MSME ecosystem, noting that the agency is keen to expand the initiative’s reach across the country.
“Our interest is to take this further than what it is now, expand it, and make it a grand national event. This is very dear to SMEDAN as a federal government agency in Nigeria,” he said.
Highlighting the significance of collaboration, he noted that while Nigeria has over 40 million small and medium-scale enterprises, programmes like the MBA currently reach only a small fraction of them.
“The number we have in this cohort is about 100 out of over 40 million enterprises, which is like a drop in the ocean. We need more initiatives and partnerships, because it is through our collective efforts,not SMEDAN alone, that we can truly develop the MSME ecosystem,” Odii stated.
In her remarks, the Founder and Convener of SSE Lab, Desola Jimmy-Eboma, explained that the Manufacturing Business Accelerator is designed to equip entrepreneurs with practical knowledge, tools, and mentorship to transform their ideas and side hustles into scalable, sustainable ventures.
“In just 90 days, our participants go through a process of discovery, validation, and execution, emerging with products ready for market and businesses ready to thrive. The Business Showers are more than a graduation ceremony; they’re a celebration of innovation, resilience, and growth,” Jimmy-Eboma said.
The event featured product exhibitions and business showcases from graduating entrepreneurs, underscoring the growing role of innovation-driven MSMEs in Nigeria’s economic transformation.
