SMEDAN Seeks CBN Licence for Microfinance Bank as FG Targets One Million New Small Businesses
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has applied to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a licence to operate a microfinance bank, a move aimed at strengthening access to finance for small businesses across the country. The initiative would allow the agency to directly disburse and monitor funds meant for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), while also positioning it to attract more international development finance.
The proposed microfinance bank comes as the Federal Government pushes to expand Nigeria’s MSME base, with SMEDAN lobbying the Presidency to add one million more small businesses to the formal economy. This would be in addition to the agency’s plan to register at least 250,000 new businesses in 2026, as part of efforts to bring informal operators into the formal sector.
Speaking at a media parley in Abuja, SMEDAN Director-General Charles Odii unveiled the agency’s five-point agenda for 2026, covering business formalisation, policy reform, financing, capacity development and infrastructure. He said the coming year would mark the payoff of reforms and groundwork laid over the past two years, particularly in simplifying registration and supporting small enterprises nationwide.
Odii also announced plans to unveil a revised National MSME Policy in 2026, noting that the current framework, last reviewed in 2021, expires at the end of this year. According to him, the policy review will be inclusive, capturing the realities of MSME operators across the 36 states and the FCT, with completion targeted for the first quarter of 2026.
On financing, SMEDAN disclosed that about ₦12 billion in affordable funding has been negotiated for small businesses, with interest rates capped at single digits. Odii said around 500,000 MSMEs have already accessed such loans, but the agency is targeting between three million and five million beneficiaries. He added that expanded training and improved infrastructure, including industrial hubs and better power access, would help reduce business costs, drive job creation and strengthen national security.
source: Vanguard