FG Committed to Entrepreneurship Funding — VP Shettima

Vice-President Kashim Shettima says the Federal Government is committed to, and capable of, funding its priority projects, describing the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) as one such priority.

Shettima made this known on Thursday at the Ground breaking Ceremony of the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship in Abuja, where he was represented by his Special Adviser on General Duties, Sen. Aliyu Modibbo.

According to Shettima, the ACE aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the government's broader efforts to tackle unemployment and create productive opportunities for young Nigerians. He noted that the expansion of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the establishment of ACE reflect the administration's commitment to strengthening entrepreneurship and enterprise development nationwide.

He said the government's ambitions for young people span FinTech, AgriTech, and HealthTech, aimed at developing businesses capable of supporting traders, farmers, and other economic actors. "Our ambition is to make the youth employers of thousands, creators of lasting value and sources of national pride. We want to create the conditions in which young Nigerians can develop enterprises that contribute meaningfully to the economy, while providing opportunities for others to earn productive livelihoods. The Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship is, therefore, consistent with the government's broader efforts to tackle unemployment and create a more productive and inclusive economy," he said.

Shettima commended SMEDAN, the Republic of Korea, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and other partners for bringing the ACE project to the groundbreaking stage. He reaffirmed that Nigeria has the capacity to fund its priorities, describing ACE as a major component of the Federal Government's broader entrepreneurship strategy.

He explained that the centre would provide young entrepreneurs with opportunities to transform their ideas into viable enterprises, while connecting them with relevant support, infrastructure, and investment. According to him, the government expects the project to contribute to a stronger entrepreneurship ecosystem capable of supporting innovation, enterprise development, and job creation across the country.

While inaugurating construction of the centre, Shettima urged entrepreneurs who had already undergone training to justify the investment by building enterprises worthy of trust and honouring their obligations. He advised beneficiaries to remain patient and committed to building sustainable enterprises, noting that the success of ACE would ultimately depend on the businesses and opportunities it generates.

UNDP: ACE to Translate Nigeria's Demographic Potential Into Jobs

Also speaking, Ms Elsie Attafuah, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, said ACE would help translate Nigeria's demographic potential into sustainable businesses and decent jobs. She noted that partnerships such as the ACE project prove most valuable when they respond to national priorities while leaving behind stronger institutions and greater opportunities for citizens.

Attafuah disclosed that UNDP had earlier supported the solarisation of SMEDAN's Common Facility Centre in Idu in 2024 through a 120KVA solar-powered mini-grid, describing the intervention as evidence of UNDP's commitment to working with Nigerian institutions to help people transform their capabilities and ideas into productive opportunities.

She noted that Nigeria is home to more than 75 million people aged between 15 and 35, describing the country's youthful population as a significant potential driver of economic transformation. However, she pointed out that young people and MSMEs continue to face barriers, including limited access to finance, digital infrastructure, business support, and appropriate innovation spaces.

According to Attafuah, ACE is designed to address some of these constraints by providing dedicated physical and institutional platforms for entrepreneurship development and innovation. She said the centre is expected to support 500 prospective young Nigerian entrepreneurs and 400 start-ups in FinTech, EdTech, HealthTech, and AgriTech, alongside MSMEs from Abuja and surrounding cities.

She explained that the centre would offer time-share offices, hot-desking facilities, meeting rooms, and training and incubation spaces to support entrepreneurs at different stages of development. "ACE will also connect entrepreneurs with government and private-sector institutions working in business registration, digital innovation, skills development, investment, export promotion, finance and enterprise support. The centre's design placed inclusion and sustainability at its core, with accessibility for persons with disabilities and older persons, as well as gender-responsive features. The facility will incorporate green design principles, including renewable energy, low embodied-carbon technologies and locally sourced biorenewable materials," she said.

Attafuah added that UNDP, SMEDAN, and KOICA intend to build an active entrepreneurship ecosystem around ACE by engaging incubators, universities, financial institutions, private-sector actors, and entrepreneur networks. She said the partners would develop an ACE Incubation Pipeline through which affiliated incubators and universities could run programmes during construction and contribute to the centre's first intake of entrepreneurs.

The ACE project is funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) with a contribution of $12 million, with SMEDAN serving as the government partner and UNDP as the infrastructure delivery partner.

The centre is being developed at SMEDAN's Idu Industrial Development Centre in Abuja, following the completion of feasibility work, site selection, partnership formalisation, and site preparation. The project is expected to strengthen entrepreneurship, innovation, skills development, investment, and inclusive economic opportunities for Nigerian youths and MSMEs.