The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has launched the Building Resilient Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs (BRYNE) Project, a new initiative designed to support more than 100,000 young Nigerians annually. The programme, unveiled as part of SMEDAN's activities to mark International Youth Day 2026, aims to improve access to enterprise training, incubation, mentorship, finance, market opportunities, and business development support for young entrepreneurs.
Programme Goals and Leadership Vision
Charles Odii, SMEDAN's Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, disclosed the initiative in a statement issued by the agency's Corporate Affairs Unit on Friday, August 14. According to Odii, the programme addresses one of the major challenges facing young entrepreneurs: finding the right support at different stages of developing a business.
Odii said: "Across the country, we meet young people with ideas, skills and businesses that can grow, but many still struggle to find the right support at the right time." He added that BRYNE would bring together opportunities ranging from training and incubation to finance, markets, and mentorship, as reported by Punch. "We want more young Nigerians to have a fair chance to build businesses that can survive, grow and create jobs," Odii stated.
Four Major Delivery Channels
Bimpe Fawale, Head of SMEDAN's Women and Youth Unit and Deputy Director, explained that the programme would be delivered through four major channels.
The first channel is the SMEDAN Incubation Programme, which will support 600 young entrepreneurs annually in sectors including fashion, woodwork, and agriculture. This initiative will leverage SMEDAN's network of Industrial Development Centres across the country to provide enterprise development support.
The second channel is the Campus Enterprise Engagement Platform, which involves partnering with the Federal Ministry of Education to take entrepreneurship support directly to tertiary institutions. The platform will provide practical business workshops, advisory sessions, networking opportunities, and exhibitions for student-owned businesses, targeting up to 3,000 participants per participating campus.
Digital Connect and Startup Hackathon
The third channel, BRYNE Digital Connect, will provide entrepreneurship education through online platforms while promoting innovation, youth-led businesses, and grassroots enterprises. It will also connect entrepreneurs with wider markets and support the development of online enterprise communities.
The fourth major component is a weekly startup hackathon targeting 5,000 young entrepreneurs. From this pool, fifty-two winners will be selected, with each winner receiving N250,000 in seed funding to support their businesses.
Support Tailored to Entrepreneurial Stages
Fawale said BRYNE was structured to support entrepreneurs according to their specific needs and stages of development. She said: "Some need help turning an idea into a business. Others already have businesses but need finance, mentorship, better market access or the right information to take the next step. BRYNE is designed to meet young entrepreneurs at those different stages and connect them to practical support."
SMEDAN said beneficiaries would also be linked to business formalisation, funding, mentorship, investors, markets, business information, and export opportunities through the agency and its partners. The programme forms part of SMEDAN's broader efforts to help young Nigerians establish sustainable businesses, expand existing enterprises, and create jobs.
In related news, the Federal Government has published details on how Nigerians can apply for financing to acquire laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices through the C.L.I.C.K.D. programme. Administered by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), the scheme offers credit facilities to qualified applicants, requiring an online application form and eligibility assessment.
