Oduwole Reaffirms FG’s Commitment to Unlock Finance to Small Businesses

• ACCI seeks relief on multiple taxation, infrastructure, affordable credit 

•Nigeria-India bilateral trade hits $9.2 billion

James Emejo and Aminat Hassan in Abuja

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, yesterday, reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to expanding access to finance, markets, technology, and other critical support for small businesses, as part of efforts to move enterprises from survival to sustainable growth.

Oduwole spoke at the opening of the 21st Abuja International Trade Fair (AITF), organised by Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

She said government was particularly focused on helping Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) scale their operations, access wider markets, and compete beyond Nigeria.

The minister said the objective was to help businesses move “from survival to sustainability and from small-scale production to scale, from serving local markets to competing across borders”.

She said the government could not build the productive economy required to achieve the country’s $1 trillion economic ambition without stronger collaboration with the private sector and development partners.

“We cannot build the one trillion-dollar economy, a productive economy that Nigeria needs, from government offices alone,” she said.

The minister said government’s role was to create an enabling environment in which businesses could invest, expand, and create jobs, while the private sector remained the engine of economic growth. She said this required continued improvements in the business environment, infrastructure, trade facilitation, and government processes, as well as reducing unnecessary barriers to investment and production.

According to Oduwole, the federal government would continue to improve businesses’ access to finance, standards, technology, information, and markets, stressing that the market available to Nigerian enterprises could no longer be restricted by national borders.

The minister said the theme of the fair, “Resilience: Trade, Taxation and the Economy,” was particularly relevant to businesses facing changing operating conditions.

She explained that business resilience should go beyond merely surviving difficult periods to include the capacity to adapt, invest, expand, compete, and create jobs.

Oduwole also challenged the organisers and participants to ensure that the trade fair generated actual commercial opportunities rather than becoming merely an exhibition of products.

She said, “A trade fair must ultimately be about transactions. It must connect businesses to buyers, it must connect manufacturers to markets, it must connect entrepreneurs to finance and investors, and it must give Nigerian businesses greater visibility and stronger pathways into domestic, regional and global value chains.”

President of ACCI, Chief Emeka Obegolu, called for policies that would make businesses more competitive, saying resilience should not translate into businesses being left to absorb the full weight of a difficult operating environment.

Obegolu identified multiple taxation, infrastructure deficits, access to affordable finance, port procedures, local manufacturing, and export-oriented businesses as areas requiring sustained engagement between government and the organised private sector.

According to him, Nigerian entrepreneurs, manufacturers, farmers, service providers and innovators have continued to adapt to high operating costs and evolving tax and regulatory requirements.

But he stressed that such resilience needed to be backed by policies that encouraged production, rewarded innovation, and simplified compliance.

Obegolu said AITF, which attracted more than 500 exhibitors, was designed to create the commercial linkages required for businesses to grow through business-to-business and business-to-government engagements, investment networking, and market access.

He urged exhibitors to use the fair to secure customers, build partnerships, and attract investors rather than merely display their products.

The ACCI president also called on international partners and the diplomatic community to view Nigeria not only as a large consumer market but also as a destination for production, investment, and regional trade.

Reinforcing the investment and production dimension of the fair, High Commissioner of India to Nigeria, Ambassador Abhishek Singh, said India viewed Nigeria as a strategic partner and was interested in deepening commercial ties beyond conventional trade.

Singh said India-Nigeria trade had rebounded to $9.2 billion in 2025/26.

He said Indian participation in the fair was aimed at expanding cooperation in affordable technology, healthcare, critical minerals, innovation, start-ups and digital public infrastructure.

Singh said India was interested in strengthening local production and value addition in Nigeria.

He stated, “India is the pharmacy of the world, but we don’t just want to export medicines. We also want to make in Nigeria along with make in India. Trade is always a two-way traffic.”

Singh also identified opportunities for Nigerian and Indian start-ups to collaborate, particularly around technology and digital public infrastructure, saying the ultimate objective should be to create jobs in both countries.

President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Jani Ibrahim, said the theme of the fair reflected the pressures confronting businesses, including changing market conditions, tax obligations, cost pressures, technological disruption, and global competition.

Represented by Director, NACCIMA, Dr. Emmanuel Ake, Ibrahim acknowledged recent economic reforms but said more needed to be done to consolidate gains and address constraints affecting businesses.

Citing National Bureau of Statistics data, he said the economy grew by 3.89 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter of 2026, with the non-oil sector accounting for 96.08 per cent of real GDP.

Manufacturing grew by 3.29 per cent, while the trade sector expanded by 2.08 per cent during the quarter, he added.

Ake said the figures underscored the growing importance of productive and service sectors to economic diversification and resilience.

The exhibition also attracted members of the diplomatic community, including representatives of India, Cuba, Namibia, Ethiopia, Iran, Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Argentina, Burundi and Kenya, alongside representatives of the European Union and Norwegian Embassy.

Women in Business Trade Group of ACCI used the occasion to recognise four women entrepreneurs for their contributions to enterprise development.

The group highlighted the need for greater access to markets, finance, technology, information and business networks for women-owned businesses.

The fair is expected to provide opportunities for exhibitors to secure commercial partnerships, access investment opportunities and expand their markets, while bringing government, businesses, and international partners together on issues affecting trade and enterprise development.