Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, recently hosted several stakeholders from around the world for a reflective and deep insightful debate about the growth future of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the African continent.
It was the 4th African Union MSME Forum- carefully designed with strategically focused themes on affordable financing, digital transformation, market access, and building resilient MSMEs for Africa’s economic growth.
The five-day event, organized by the African Union Commission, attracted delegates and stakeholders from over 50 African countries, with the opening session held at Aso Rock, Presidential Villa.
For many of the participants, Nigeria’s decision to host the forum sends a strong signal of the nation’s vowed commitment to reposition itself as a regional investment hub.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Job Creation & MSMEs, Mr. Temitola Adekunle-Johnson who set the stage for the elaborate discussion, reminded delegates at the forum of the critical position of Africa’s 1.52billion youthful population, which he said, must be leveraged as an essential capital through the improvement of access to affordable finance.
Mr. Adekunle-Johnson doubles as the Special Adviser to the African Union Sixth Region Global (AU6RG) on Job Creation & MSMEs, an organization dedicated to representing and advocating for the African diaspora worldwide, and with a core mission to empower the African diaspora through promoting unity, identity, prosperity, and inclusive development.
His statement at the event, fully aligns with President Tinubu’s firm support and dedication to the development and empowerment of MSMEs, as they remain central to his administration’s economic strategy under the Renewed Hope Agenda, which highlights that Nigeria’s vast human and natural resources leave ‘no reason for Nigerians to be poor’.
For Vice President Kashim Shettima, there can not be African prosperity without a strong MSME ecosystem.
The Vice President, speaking in a keynote address at the Abuja forum, emphasized that since Africa’s informal sector accounts for 90 percent of the workforce, leaders and stakeholders must make deliberate efforts to incorporate it into formal intra-African trade frameworks.
Nigeria, he said already has MSMEs accounting for 48 percent of the country’s GDP, with the sector also employing 84 percent of the country’s workforce.
It is undoubtedly true that MSMEs in Nigeria particularly, have struggled significantly due to a variety of harsh economic and operational challenges, including a tough economic environment, high and rising energy costs, lack of financing, poor infrastructure, and regulatory complexities.
But, one central message from the Vice President remains that “We are not watching the world change; we are championing change.”
Vice President Shettima, did not fail in also highlighting the transformative potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the region’s growing digital adoption, which has achieved what politics could not.
Some major takeaways from the panel of discussions at the forum are that digital literacy and infrastructure are now essential and that MSMEs are fundamental to job creation, especially for youth and women.
The panelists who included Mr. Massimo De Luca of the European Union (EU), Ms. Elsie Attafuah of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Nigeria), and the Minister of Industry Trade & Investment Dr. Jumoke Oduwole agreed that financing models must shift toward inclusivity and accessibility.
The forum also resolved that the AfCFTA, which has already received an implementation funding commitment of €1.1 billion from the EU, presents an immense opportunity for expansion, since there is an urgent need for governments to move from policy to practice.
Other interesting conclusions from the extensive discussion involving high-level government, institutional, and development stakeholders included the recognition that MSMEs are crucial to continental development and that financing should be both affordable and accessible.
The fundamental issue—that digital innovation is not optional but essential—was also reiterated time and again at the all important AU forum.
The AU MSMEs Abuja forum also resolved that Women and youth around the continent must be prioritized in programmes while AfCFTA and diaspora engagement continue to provide new opportunities.
Egypt hosted the first AU MSME Forum in 2022, followed by Ethiopia (2023), and Namibia in 2024. The forum has since launched a flagship Enterprise Fellowship Programme with 50 businesses participating.
There is a wide consensus that all four forums of the AU MSME outcomes have significantly contributed to promoting a more inclusive and effective African SME sector aimed at supporting the continent’s industrialization and economic integration under the AU’s vision.
Given Nigeria’s extensive MSME sector, its status as Africa’s largest economy, and the proactive involvement of the current government, the country undeniably remains a key player in this major continental economic initiative.
