Nigeria's drive to strengthen its small business ecosystem has gained fresh momentum as the mySMEville platform, powered by a partnership between MTN Nigeria and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, expands its reach in a bid to address the country's estimated $158 billion annual MSME financing gap.
High-Level Engagement in Abuja
The initiative was highlighted recently during a high-level engagement at MTN's corporate headquarters in Abuja, where a delegation from Angola's National Institute of Support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises visited to study the Nigerian model. Led by INAPEM Chairman Mr. Bráulio Augusto, the delegation assessed the progress of mySMEville, a digital ecosystem designed to support Nigeria's nearly 40 million micro, small and medium enterprises through access to funding, infrastructure, information and markets.
Rapid Growth Since Launch
The platform, which began as a policy idea formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding in November 2025, has recorded rapid growth since its rollout. A pilot phase in Lagos onboarded about 200 businesses in December, before scaling up to more than 2,600 registered users across Nigeria by May 2026. Nigeria's MSME sector remains a major pillar of the economy, contributing about 48 per cent of GDP. However, it continues to face structural bottlenecks, including limited access to formal credit and high levels of informality, with estimates showing that about 80 per cent of small businesses operate outside the formal financial system.
Technology as a Solution
At the engagement, MTN Nigeria said the platform was designed to break these barriers by combining technology, financing access and enterprise support into a single digital ecosystem. Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, said the company's focus is to help African businesses scale and compete globally. "Our goal is simple: we want to be the best technology partner out there, helping African businesses grow fast, compete globally, and make a real, lasting impact."
On his part, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Dr. Charles Odii, described the initiative as a major step in aligning public and private sector efforts to unlock economic growth across Africa. "What we are witnessing here is a formidable force for economic progress. Through this deliberate Public-Private Partnership, Nigeria is aligning its public and private sectors to lead the way for Africa."
One-Stop Orchestrator for MSMEs
A live demonstration of the platform was conducted by Olatunbosun Agosu, Senior Specialist, ICT Segment Management at MTN Business, who explained that mySMEville serves as a "one-stop orchestrator" for MSME development. He said the platform aggregates multiple services, allowing entrepreneurs to access funding opportunities, digital infrastructure such as solar solutions, e-commerce tools and essential business intelligence from a single interface. The goal, according to developers, is to reduce fragmentation in the MSME support ecosystem and directly tackle the estimated $158 billion financing gap limiting growth and expansion.
Angolan Delegation Impressed
The visiting Angolan delegation said it was impressed by the scale and structure of the initiative, noting that lessons from Nigeria would be adapted to strengthen MSME development in Angola. Mr. Bráulio Augusto said the model demonstrates the power of collaboration between the public and private sectors. "The key thing I learned here is the strength of the public and private sector partnership. mySMEville clearly shows what's possible, and we will absolutely use these insights as we adapt this model back home in Angola."
Future Plans
Looking ahead, stakeholders say the platform aims to scale its reach to about five million MSMEs through expanded onboarding, the mySMEville Academy, e-commerce integration and policy advocacy initiatives.
