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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has entered into a new partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to improve access to long-term financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in Abuja recently, aims to integrate small businesses into the capital market and support the Federal Government’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy. Under the agreement, both agencies are targeting the listing of at least 1,000 SMEs on the Nigerian capital market over the next few years.
Director-General of the SEC, Emomotimi Agama, said the collaboration would provide new funding opportunities for SMEs and help deepen their participation in the market. “Capital is the bedrock of any company. Today we have about 40 million Small and Medium Enterprises that are duly registered with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and it is important that as a capital market, we are able to find a route for these small and Medium Scale enterprises to be able to raise capital for sustainability,” he said.
Agama added that the partnership aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda on employment, growth, and development. “We also want to bring them on board the pipeline of listed companies in Nigeria where they will be able to democratize wealth and share a part of their institutions with Nigerians making sure that development is faster and to lead to the growth of the economy,” he stated.
On his part, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, said the initiative would address the challenge of costly and limited capital faced by many small businesses. “Capital in this part of the world is very expensive and scarce,” Odii said. “Through this collaboration, we are creating another source of financing for our medium-scale businesses. We have set ourselves a target of at least 1,000 SMEs listing on the capital market. This will galvanize growth, create wealth, and reduce unemployment in Nigeria.”
According to him, the MoU is designed to promote good corporate governance, financial literacy, and access to equity and debt instruments. He said both agencies would collaborate on capacity-building programmes, awareness campaigns, and technical assistance to prepare SMEs for market participation.
Under the deal, the SEC will support SMEDAN’s five-year strategic policy framework on inclusive financing, while SMEDAN will identify and prepare eligible SMEs for listing on recognised exchanges. The partnership will also encourage creditworthy SMEs to issue debt securities to qualified investors as an alternative to traditional bank loans.
To advance these objectives, SEC and SMEDAN will jointly organise a national SME conference to engage stakeholders and discuss sustainable financing strategies. The agreement also establishes a Joint Working Group to coordinate implementation and data sharing in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
