ABUJA, Nigeria – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has welcomed the ongoing construction of the $12 million Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship, affirming that the multilateral intervention will fortify Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises ecosystem, accelerate enterprise formalization, and generate thousands of sustainable jobs, the State House announced in an executive dispatch in Abuja on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
The state-of-the-art incubation hub, financed by the Government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency, is being established at the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria Industrial Development Centre in the Idu industrial district of Abuja, in tripartite partnership with the Federal Government and the United Nations Development Programme.
Okay News reports that in an official statement signed on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency disclosed that $5.9 million of the total commitment is allocated to modern physical infrastructure, while $6.1 million will directly finance specialized digital machinery, incubation labs, and structured capacity-building curricula for participating businesses.
The facility is engineered to support an initial baseline cohort comprising 500 aspiring innovators, 400 early-stage technology start-ups operating in FinTech, AgriTech, HealthTech, and EdTech, as well as 1,500 established small and medium-scale enterprises seeking operational expansion.
President Tinubu underscored the strategic economic significance of grassroots enterprises, observing that deliberate investments in vocational and technological incubation remain fundamental to unlocking domestic industrial capacity.
“Small businesses are an important part of our economy,” President Tinubu stated. “They employ people, support families, and create activity in communities across the country. Many entrepreneurs already have the ideas and the determination to succeed. What they often need is better access to facilities, technology, training, and the support that can help their businesses grow. This Centre will provide more of that support and strengthen the ecosystem around them.”
The center has been designed to serve commercial enterprises beyond the Federal Capital Territory, extending tailored enterprise support, hot-desking stations, shared time-share corporate offices, and market-access linkages across surrounding northern urban centers, including Kaduna, Jos, Keffi, Lafia, Minna, Makurdi, and Lokoja.
The President maintained that his administration will continue to institute regulatory and macroeconomic conditions that enable small enterprises to thrive, compete favorably under regional free-trade frameworks, and access affordable credit.
“We want more Nigerians to be able to start businesses, grow them, and employ others,” the Commander-in-Chief added. “We also want existing small businesses to have better access to the tools and support they need to become stronger and more productive. That is important for jobs, incomes, and the wider economy.”
President Tinubu pointed out that the facility incorporates inclusive social architectural standards, featuring barrier-free access ramps and navigational aids for persons with disabilities alongside dedicated on-site crèche facilities to support female entrepreneurs with nursing infants.
Expressing deep appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Korea, KOICA, UNDP, and the management of SMEDAN under Director-General Charles Odii for advancing the project to physical construction, the President affirmed that Nigeria remains open to strategic partnerships that deepen enterprise development and build a self-sustaining economy.
Primary source: Nigerian State House statement.
