Access to affordable digital technology remains a major challenge to the productivity and competitiveness of Nigeria’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). In response, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and global technology company, Zoho, have launched a new initiative targeting 25,000 businesses.
Under the partnership, Zoho will provide wallet credits with an aggregate value of up to N20 billion to as many as 25,000 eligible MSMEs within the SMEDAN ecosystem. The credits will enable participating businesses to access Zoho’s cloud-based business applications.
The initiative is aimed at reducing the financial barriers to digital adoption among small businesses while improving their ability to manage operations, customers, accounting, collaboration and other core business functions through cloud technology.
The partnership also aligns with SMEDAN’s GROW Nigerian strategy, which identifies formalisation, access to finance and markets, productivity and digital adoption as key drivers of sustainable MSME growth.
Speaking on the initiative, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, said the agency’s priority was to help businesses move beyond survival towards sustainable growth.
“Our focus at SMEDAN is to ensure that small businesses are able to move from survival to growth and prosperity. That means helping entrepreneurs formalise, improve productivity, reach new markets and build businesses that can compete,” Odii said.
He added that digital capability had become an important part of that transition, noting that the partnership would give thousands of MSMEs within the agency’s ecosystem a practical pathway to strengthen their operations and expand their businesses.
The programme comes as SMEDAN continues its efforts to bring more small businesses into the formal economy. The agency is partnering with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to facilitate the free registration of 250,000 businesses, a move expected to position more MSMEs to access formal markets and other growth opportunities.
Country Head of Zoho Nigeria, Kehinde Ogundare, said access to technology alone would not be enough unless businesses were able to effectively deploy it to address their operational challenges.
“MSMEs are fundamental to Nigeria’s economic development, but technology can only deliver its full potential when businesses are able to access and effectively use it,” Ogundare said.
He explained that the partnership would extend beyond providing technology credits to include training, consultations and technical support. According to him, Zoho is seeking to reduce the barriers preventing Nigerian businesses from adopting enterprise-grade digital tools.
Under the initiative, eligible businesses will be able to use the Zoho Wallet Credits across more than 60 applications, including Zoho Workplace for business email and collaboration, Bigin by Zoho CRM for customer and sales pipeline management, and Zoho Books for cloud-based accounting.
Zoho and SMEDAN will also provide participating businesses with training sessions, workshops, one-on-one business consultations and ongoing technical support throughout the programme.
The partners are expected to jointly manage outreach to eligible businesses and monitor adoption and impact, with the broader objective of strengthening digital capabilities and building a more resilient and competitive MSME ecosystem in Nigeria.
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