The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, has revealed that out of the ₦5 billion loan facility provided by Sterling Bank for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), only ₦250 million has so far been disbursed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Odii made this known during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SMEDAN and Sterling Bank. He emphasized that the ₦5 billion is not a grant, but a loan to be accessed and repaid, yet many small businesses are still unable to tap into the funds due to inadequate business capacity and poor record-keeping practices.
"We are experiencing stunted disbursements in these loans because it is not going the way we expected," he stated. "Most small businesses do not have the right capacity, and many are run without proper records."
To address this, SMEDAN is scaling up training through its Business Clinics, aimed at equipping business owners with the necessary skills and certifications to qualify for loan access.
"So far in Q1, we have trained 12,000 business owners through some of our partners, and we plan to do more," Odii added.
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Highlighting successes, he noted that Katsina State has emerged as the top performer in accessing the loans. The state's governor, Dikko Umar Radda, a former Director-General of SMEDAN, utilized his background knowledge to ensure local SMEs benefited from the initiative. According to Odii, 204 SMEs in Katsina accessed loans totaling ₦200 million—a significant share of the disbursed funds.
"We have disbursed approximately ₦250 million across the federation, which represents only five percent of the available ₦5 billion," Odii said.
To boost disbursement, SMEDAN is also entering strategic partnerships with state governments and the Bank of Industry (BoI). In Katsina, the agency signed an MoU for an additional ₦1 billion facility dedicated to SMEs in the state.
Odii further revealed the creation of a SMEs Data Bank, where small businesses are encouraged to register to enable SMEDAN to evaluate their operations, track records, and eligibility for financing.
"We want to know them, understand their business history, and provide tailored financial support," he concluded.
