Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Tag: MSMEs

  • Enugu Chamber of Commerce Elects Onyemelukwe as 18th President

    Enugu Chamber of Commerce Elects Onyemelukwe as 18th President

    Enugu Chamber of Commerce Elects Onyemelukwe as 18th President

    Reporting by Tribune Online indicates that the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) elected Nnanyelugo Onyemelukwe as its new president. Onyemelukwe, previously the first deputy president, was elected unopposed during the chamber’s 52nd Annual General Meeting. He is expected to steer the chamber through a difficult macroeconomic environment and oversee preparations for the 37th Enugu International Trade Fair.

    The outgoing president, Odeiga Jideonwo, emphasized that the new leadership should focus on empowering Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for global competitiveness. ECCIMA is reportedly working on a roadmap for the 2026 trade fair, which organizers expect to draw significant local and international participation.

    The Sun validated the election outcome, quoting a spokesperson who said Onyemelukwe brings deep manufacturing-sector experience. Vanguard also reported on the event, quoting Governor Peter Mbah urging the chamber to sustain its role as a bridge between government and the private sector.

    Echotitbits take: ECCIMA is a critical institution in the Southeast’s economic ecosystem. Onyemelukwe’s agenda will be tested by high borrowing costs and inflation pressures. Delivery will depend on practical support for MSMEs—market access, financing pathways, and trade-fair execution.

    Source: Gazettengr — https://gazettengr.com/eccima-elects-nnanyelugo-onyemelukwe-as-18th-president/ (2026-01-23)

    Photo Credit: Gazettengr 2026-01-23

  • NIRSAL says 2025 credit guarantees crossed ₦100bn as banks expand agribusiness lending

    NIRSAL says 2025 credit guarantees crossed ₦100bn as banks expand agribusiness lending

    2025-12-29 09:00:00
    According to Punch, NIRSAL Plc says it is closing out 2025 with more than ₦100bn in approved credit guarantees for agriculture and agribusiness loans, positioning the guarantees as a de-risking tool that helps banks back projects they would normally avoid.

    The milestone is framed as part of a broader push to widen formal credit into farming, processing, logistics and market access—areas often constrained by price volatility, climate risk and weak collateral structures.

    The claim lands amid persistent concerns about food inflation and supply disruptions, where policymakers and lenders are searching for instruments that can crowd-in private capital rather than rely solely on direct public spending.

    The core message is that credit can scale faster when the risk is shared—especially for value-chain activities that are commercially viable but too risky for traditional underwriting.

    BusinessDay also reported the milestone, noting that NIRSAL “approved credit guarantees covering more than ₦100 billion… in 2025,” while The Guardian similarly wrote that NIRSAL “has closed 2025 with over ₦100 billion in approved credit guarantees.”

    Echotitbits take: If the guarantee pipeline is real and transparent, the next question is where the credit actually landed—by crop, region and borrower type—and what default ratios look like. Watch for independent portfolio data and sector-by-sector breakdowns.

    Source: BusinessDay — https://businessday.ng/news/article/nirsal-guarantees-record-%E2%82%A6100bn-in-agriculture-lending/#:~:text=The%20Nigeria%20Incentive%2DBased%20Risk,risk%2Dsharing%20tools%20to%20expand – December 29, 2025
    BusinessDay 2025-12-29

    Photo Credit: BusinessDay

  • NIRSAL highlights wider 2013–2025 impact: ₦290bn+ finance facilitated and jobs claims

    NIRSAL highlights wider 2013–2025 impact: ₦290bn+ finance facilitated and jobs claims

    2025-12-28 09:00:00
    Figures cited by The Nation show NIRSAL says it facilitated over ₦290bn in finance between 2013 and 2025 across production, processing, logistics, market development and exports, alongside job and beneficiary impact claims.

    NIRSAL positions its role as facilitation rather than direct lending—using risk-sharing, guarantees and technical assistance to help banks and partners extend credit to agribusiness segments seen as too risky.

    The narrative is reinforced in NIRSAL’s communications, where it frames credit guarantees as a mechanism that expands partner financial institutions’ appetite for agriculture lending.

    Set against Nigeria’s food-security pressures, the big question is whether the cumulative numbers translate to measurable productivity gains or mainly reflect credit intermediation and programme counting.

    The Nation reported NIRSAL “has facilitated more than N290 billion” in finance, while NIRSAL communications said it was “closing 2025… with… credit guarantees for over N100 billion” in agriculture and agribusiness.

    Echotitbits take: Impact claims need independent verification. Watch for audited portfolio outcomes, borrower performance data and state-by-state breakdowns—especially default rates and whether credit reached smallholders or stayed concentrated in large firms.

    Source: The Nation — https://thenationonlineng.net/nirsal-facilitates-over-n100bn-in-2025-drives-159-jobs/ — December 28, 2025
    The Nation 2025-12-28

    Photo Credit: The Nation

  • AU, Ecobank Launch MSME Academy for Africa’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 

    AU, Ecobank Launch MSME Academy for Africa’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 

    New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a socio-economic flagship programme of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA), otherwise called AUDA-NEPAD, has launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Academy, in partnership with Ecobank Group.

    Spearheaded under AUDA-NEPAD ‘100,000 MSMEs by 2021’ (100K MSMEs) programme for Africa’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the Academy provides easy access to practical training and resources on financing opportunities in various countries, materials on how to build digital presence for businesses and how to adapt business operations in the era of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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  • Buhari-led Federal Govt announces multi-billion Naira ‘survival fund’ for MSMes

    Buhari-led Federal Govt announces multi-billion Naira ‘survival fund’ for MSMes

    The Federal Government has announced that it is rolling out a “survival fund” that will make payroll support available in order to save jobs and sustain local production.

    The support initiative, which was announced on Monday is a part of the National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) that was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo-led committee in June.

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    The NESP, a policy response of the Buhari-led Federal Government to saving the country from a COVID-19 induced recession, include support schemes for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide, a Guaranteed Offtake Scheme (guaranteeing off-take of priority products) among others.

    According to the Federal Government’s announcement, details on how to access these MSME Support initiatives will be unveiled soon, by the Implementation Committee.

    READ ALSO: Sad! – Buhari says of UK-based Nigerian property professional, Dapo Williams’ death 

    The leadership of the implementation committee comprises, Chairman, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Amb Mariam Katagum; and Vice Chairman, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Founder, Chair Centre LTD., also Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria.

    Below: Federal Government’s document containing intervention plan for MSMEs.