Economy
FG to Reposition MSMEs For Domestic Investments, FDIs
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has reiterated its commitment to reposition the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector to further stimulate domestic investments and attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).
This was made by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Evelyn Ngige, at an event organised by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to commemorate the 2023 World MSME Day.
Mrs Ngige expressed the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s commitment to formulating and implementing policies, programmes and projects that would impact MSMEs.
The Permanent Secretary, represented by Mr John Okpaluwa, said that prioritising the development of MSMEs was pertinent in building a better and stronger economy.
She further expressed the federal government’s determination to formulate policies that would create an enabling environment to stimulate domestic investments and attract FDIs in all sectors of the economy.
According to her, this will make Nigeria a preferred investment destination in Africa and the world at large.
“We are all aware that Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are the mainstay of economies globally, playing a critical role in promoting innovation, creativity and decent work for all.
“It is with cognizance of this that the United Nations declared June 27 annually as MSME Day to raise awareness of their significance, especially in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The theme of this year’s event has further invigorated the importance and the critical role MSMEs play in the resuscitation of the world economy, especially the developing countries like ours.
“It is against this backdrop that prioritising MSMEs development becomes pertinent in building back a better and stronger economy in view of the shocks and crises that have disrupted the global working environment for entrepreneurs, especially MSMEs.
“This is why the Federal Government of Nigeria is committed and has shown sustained interest in repositioning the sector for efficiency, growth and development,” Mrs Ngige said.
While highlighting the role of MSMEs in the economy, she said that 39 million MSMEs in Nigeria contribute 46.31 per cent of the national GDP and 6.21 per cent of gross exports as well as employ a significant number of the populace.
According to her, the sector has continued to play a pivotal role in stimulating economic growth and providing employment to vulnerable groups such as youths, women and the poor.
“There is no doubt that the serious engagement of key private sector players in the development of policies and programmes, especially for MSMEs development, further reflects the resolve by the government to make Nigerian MSMEs become globally competitive.
“While assuring you that this effort is yielding a positive outcome, I am optimistic that the collaboration with relevant stakeholders will be sustained in the implementation of the revised National policy on MSMEs and beyond,’’ she said.
“It will as well enhance access to professional BDS by nano, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (nMSMEs) so as to maximise their potential.
“Also worthy of mention is the Nigeria Start-up Act, which seeks to provide an enabling environment for the establishment, development and operations of start-ups in Nigeria.
“The Act is also expected to foster the development and growth of technology-related talent and position Nigeria’s start-up ecosystem as the leading digital technology hub in Africa,’’ Mrs Ngige said.
She said that the Federal Government launched the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE) programme in Abuja as a major step toward upscaling entrepreneurship and innovation in the digital technology and creative industries.
“This includes film, fashion and music and will create an ecosystem that nurtures innovation, improves ease of access to affordable credit as well as a business-friendly system,’’ she said.
Adding his input, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Olawale Fasanya, said that MSMEs contribute over 59 million jobs as of 2021, amounting to over 84 per cent of the total labour force in Nigeria and more than 48 per cent of nominal GDP.
He solicited better cohesion among key players to ensure the sustainable development of the sector, adding that more support would not only make the sub-sector more sustainable but also measurable.
He further said that Nigeria is presented with an unprecedented opportunity to emerge with a better enabling environment for MSMEs to operate with the new government in place.
According to him, the government is now more focused on embarking on tangible and measurable economic diversifications, improvement of health care, education, public transport, empowerment of all women, girl-child and the youths, and combating climate change and its impacts.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank financer, is ramping up efforts to unlock private capital for Africa, with plans to more than double its annual guarantee issuance on the continent to $6.4 billion over the next three and a half years.
The move is expected to catalyse as much as $23 billion in private sector investment across key sectors, including energy infrastructure, food security, trade finance, digital connectivity and sovereign debt restructuring.
The expansion underscores a growing shift among development finance institutions toward deploying guarantees as a primary tool for de-risking investments in frontier markets and attracting private capital flows into economies often viewed as high-risk.
MIGA’s Managing Director, Mr Tsutomu Yamamoto, said the scaled-up programme would play a critical role in mobilising investment, creating jobs and strengthening economic resilience across African countries.
He noted that the agency’s instruments, ranging from political risk insurance to credit enhancement, debt swaps and portfolio guarantees, are designed to reduce investor exposure and improve project bankability.
The guarantee push will continue to focus on strategic sectors such as power grids, local banking systems, agriculture and food supply chains, as well as digital infrastructure, all of which are seen as foundational to long-term economic growth across the continent.
Although the agency did not disclose specific projects in its pipeline, it said the expansion reflects rising demand for risk-sharing mechanisms in emerging markets, particularly as governments grapple with tight fiscal conditions and limited access to affordable financing.
The development follows a broader restructuring within the World Bank Group nearly two years ago, which consolidated guarantee operations to scale up private sector investment mobilisation globally.
MIGA has already played a role in pioneering debt swap transactions in the Ivory Coast and Angola, while also supporting food security initiatives in Kenya and backing more than 100 energy projects across emerging markets. Its guarantees have further underpinned lending operations in countries such as Ghana and Zambia, helping to stabilise financial systems and sustain credit flows.
The agency’s latest push reflects a wider evolution in development finance strategy, where guarantees are increasingly used to stretch limited public funds and crowd in private investors. By lowering perceived risks, these instruments make large-scale infrastructure and development projects more attractive to commercial financiers who would otherwise stay on the sidelines.
This shift is gaining urgency as many advanced economies scale back aid budgets while simultaneously seeking stronger economic ties and resource access in Africa.
In response, multilateral lenders are leaning more heavily on innovative financial tools like guarantees to bridge funding gaps and sustain development momentum.
MIGA’s broader ambition is to help lift the World Bank Group’s global guarantee issuance to $20 billion annually by 2030, positioning guarantees as a central pillar in financing sustainable development across emerging markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further appreciated by 0.58 per cent on Tuesday, May 19, buoyed by strong investor appetite for unlisted securities.
Data from the bourse showed that the volume of securities traded during the session ballooned by 365,661.8 per cent to 1.9 billion units compared with the previous day’s 514,142 units, as the value of transactions surged by 30,433.9 per cent to N5.3 billion from the preceding session’s N17.4 million, and the number of deals increased by 22.2 per cent, as these trades were executed in 60 deals versus the 27 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with the sale of 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 60.9 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
During the session, there were three price gainers and one price loser, led by Afriland Properties Plc, which went down by 5 Kobo to trade at N16.90 per share versus the previous day’s N16.95 per share.
But FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc appreciated by N12.45 to N151.79 per unit from N146.55 per unit, CSCS Plc expanded by 62 Kobo to N70.62 per share from N70.00 per share, and UBN Property Plc added 20 Kobo to close at N2.24 per unit versus N2.04 per unit.
At the close of business, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 24.05 points to 4,157.75 points from 4,133.70 points, and the market capitalisation chalked up N14.39 billion to close at N2.487 trillion compared with Monday’s N2.473 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, May 19, by 17 Kobo or 0.01 per cent to trade at N1,373.87/$1 compared to the previous day’s N1,373.70/$1.
However, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window by 5 Kobo to close at N1,839.61/£1 versus Monday’s rate of N1,839.66/£1, and gained N5.97 against the Euro to settle at N1,594.52/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,600.49/€1.
Data from GTBank FX bench showed that the Naira appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N2 to sell at N1,381/$1 versus N1,383, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,390/$1.
The outcome across the board came as Nigeria’s external reserves have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, which may provide some support for FX market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and broader macroeconomic stability efforts.
Currency traders and investors are expected to continue monitoring CBN policy direction, foreign portfolio inflows, crude oil earnings, and external reserve performance as key indicators influencing the naira’s trajectory in the coming months.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting began on Tuesday with announcements of decisions expected later on Wednesday after inflation ticked up in April.
In the cryptocurrency market, major digital coins were down as traders focused on macro data, oil prices, and inflation, while the US Senate advanced a measure that could force President Donald Trump to seek congressional approval for the Iran war.
Ripple (XRP) went down by 1.3 per cent to $1.36, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 0.9 per cent to $0.1034, Cardano (ADA) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $0.2499, Ethereum (ETH) declined by 0.5 per cent to $2,124.02, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to $84.67, TRON (TRX) dipped by 0.4 per cent to $0.3551, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 0.1 per cent to $641.39.
On the flip side, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to $77,114.20, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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