By Modupe Gbadeyanka

To close Nigeria’s $158 billion funding gap for 40 million small businesses, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has joined forces with MTN Nigeria to operate a platform known as mySMEville Academy.

The aim is to reach a target of 5 million MSMEs through the mySMEville Academy, e-commerce integrations, and national policy advocacy.

The platform was created as a one-stop shop for resources, with four core areas: information, funding, infrastructure, and markets, to support a sector that contributes 48 per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) but remains largely underserved.

On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, SMEDAN visited MTN’s head office alongside Angola’s INAPEM, the National Institute of Support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Angola’s agency is studying the collaboration between MTN and SMEDAN, which led to the launch of the mySMEville partnership in November 2025.

After a pilot in Lagos onboarded 200 businesses in December, the platform rapidly grew to include over 2,600 businesses nationwide by May 2026. This rapid expansion is essential given that 80 per cent of Nigerian SMEs are currently informal and only 3.9 per cent access formal credit, leaving a staggering $158 billion annual financing gap.

Emphasising the strategic necessity of this collaboration, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, Ms Lynda Saint-Nwafor, said, “Our goal is simple, we want to be the best technology partner out there, helping African businesses grow fast, compete globally, and make a real, lasting impact.”

Supporting this view, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said the initiative represents the future of business on the continent, asserting that

“What we are witnessing here is a formidable force for economic progress. Through this deliberate Public-Private Partnership, Nigeria is aligning its public and private sectors to lead the way for Africa,” he stated.

On his part, the Senior Specialist for ICT Segment Management at MTN Business, Mr Olatunbosun Agosu, demonstrated with a live demo how the mySMEville platform, a joint effort by MTN and SMEDAN, is the “one-stop orchestrator” for Nigeria’s 40 million small businesses.

INAPEM’s Chairman, Mr Bráulio Augusto, confirmed that Angola intends to adapt the framework to its own economic reality, noting, “The key thing I learned here is the strength of the public and private sector partnership. mySMEville clearly shows what’s possible, and we will absolutely use these insights as we adapt this model back home in Angola.”

By Adedapo Adesanya

Gas marketers have expressed worries about the scarcity of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), otherwise known as cooking gas, and rising prices, with consumers paying as high as N2,000 per kg in some areas.

A press statement by the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) raised concern about the erratic supply and the hike in the price of cooking gas across the country.

According to them, while prices have gone as high, they are forced to pay as much as N26 million for 20MT of cooking gas, depending on location.

“It is sad and rather very pathetic to inform the general public that the citizens of Nigeria have woken up to buy cooking gas, which should be a social item at a prohibitive cost of over N1,500per kg, while the Marketers are made to pay as much as N25,200,000, or, depending on location, N26,200,000 for 20MT of cooking gas.

“We feel that if the situation is not immediately checked, the citizens may rise against the owners of gas filling stations.

“This sad situation has brought untold hardship to millions of Nigerian households, small businesses, food vendors, and low-income families who rely on LPG for daily cooking and livelihood.

“It is rather worrisome to state that this situation is seriously eroding the substantial progress made by the Government on the usage of Clean Energy in the country,” a part of the statement said.

NALPGAM noted that its members face challenges in sourcing LPG due to persistent supply shortages, high depot prices, logistics bottlenecks, and uncontrollable rising operational costs.

“While millions of Nigerians have embraced cooking gas as a result of the national clean energy transition agenda, it is sad to state that those gains are at risk as households are struggling to refill cylinders, small businesses are folding under rising energy costs, while many families are reverting to firewood and charcoal despite the serious implications for public health, environmental degradation, and deforestation,” it said.

The association warned that if urgent and coordinated actions are not taken immediately, the current crisis could trigger broader consequences, including accelerated food inflation, the collapse of small-scale LPG retail businesses, job losses, reduced investor confidence, and a significant setback to Nigeria’s clean energy and climate commitments.

It called on the federal government, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, domestic producers, terminal operators, international suppliers, and all critical stakeholders in the LPG value chain to take urgent, coordinated steps to stabilise the market before it degenerates further.

It called for immediate measures to improve the availability and accessibility of LPG nationwide, increased domestic LPG allocation to the Nigerian market, ensuring transparent and equitable distribution of available supply across regions, reduction of bottlenecks in product importation, storage, and distribution, implementation of strategic interventions to stabilise retail prices, and protection of consumers.

The marketers also called for other measures, such as investment in critical infrastructure, including storage and distribution facilities, and adoption of policies that support affordability, sustainability, and long-term growth of the sector.

NALPGAM reaffirmed its commitment to constructive engagement and collaboration with government agencies, regulators, producers, and other stakeholders to develop sustainable solutions that will guarantee an affordable, stable supply and continued growth of the LPG sector.

“In conclusion, it is apposite to state that “We cannot stand by and watch millions of Nigerian families suffer in silence while access to clean cooking energy becomes increasingly difficult and unaffordable. For years, Government and industry operators have worked to move Nigerians away from unsafe fuels. Those gains are now under serious threat”, the statement added.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Wednesday, May 27 and Thursday, May 28, 2026, have been declared as public holidays for this year’s Eid al-Adha.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Ms Magdalene Ajani, in a statement on Monday, said the declaration affirms the federal government’s profound respect for the faith and spiritual heritage of millions of Nigerian Muslims who join the global Islamic community in observing this sacred occasion.

She said the Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, felicitates with all Muslim faithful in Nigeria and throughout the Diaspora for the celebration.

Eid al-Adha was described as a festival of deep spiritual significance, grounded in the values of sacrifice, obedience to God, and compassion for one’s fellow man.

He urged all Nigerians to use this period for prayer and sober reflection, asking for divine guidance for the country as it continues its pursuit of peace, security, and prosperity for every citizen.

“It is in the spirit of brotherhood, shared humanity, and national unity that the federal government wishes all Muslims a peaceful, blessed, and joyous celebration,” the statement concluded.