The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has launched an intensive two-week Training of Trainers program in Abuja to address critical structural weaknesses in the nation's startup ecosystem. Operating under the umbrella of the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) Project, a collaborative $12 million initiative co-funded by the South Korean Government through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) the campaign targets a persistent challenge in Nigeria's commercial landscape. Speaking on behalf of SMEDAN Director-General Charles Odii, Director Onesi-Lawani emphasized that Nigeria's primary barrier to startup success is not a lack of available capital, but a severe shortage of investment-ready, properly structured enterprises capable of meeting international investor standards. Despite Nigeria hosting five of Africa’s eight tech unicorns, early-stage ventures frequently struggle to scale due to gaps in foundational management and execution. To bridge this divide, SMEDAN's program selected 30 elite facilitators from an initial pool of over 1,100 applicants, following a rigorous screening process that shortlisted 80 candidates before final interviews. These newly certified instructors are being trained across two primary tracks Business Management and Artificial Intelligence to mentor emerging founders in high-growth sectors such as fintech, agritech, healthtech, logistics, and the creative economy. Running through 2028, the broader ACE Project will culminate in the construction of a dedicated entrepreneurship hub at SMEDAN's Industrial Development Centre in Abuja, providing continuous incubation, seed funding competitions, and strategic advisory to build a new generation of globally competitive Nigerian enterprises.
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