President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the construction of a $12 million Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship, a Korea-funded facility expected to provide training, digital infrastructure and business support to thousands of entrepreneurs, start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises.
The Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship, ACE, is being developed at the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, Industrial Development Centre in Idu, Abuja, through a partnership involving the Republic of Korea, SMEDAN and the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP.
The project has an initial target of 500 entrepreneurs, 400 start-ups and 1,500 MSMEs, placing enterprise development and digital skills at the centre of its proposed activities.
About $5.9 million of the funding will go towards construction, while another $6.1 million is earmarked for equipment and programmes designed to support entrepreneurs and businesses.
Tinubu said the facility would give business owners access to resources that can help them establish, strengthen and expand their ventures.
“Small businesses are an important part of our economy. They employ people, support families and create activity in communities across the country,” the President said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
He added that many entrepreneurs already possessed business ideas and the determination to pursue them but lacked adequate access to facilities, technology, training and other forms of support.
“This Centre will provide more of that support and strengthen the ecosystem around them,” Tinubu said.
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ACE is designed to provide workspaces, digital facilities, training, incubation and enterprise development services. Its planned coverage extends beyond Abuja to cities including Kaduna, Jos, Keffi, Lafia, Minna, Makurdi and Lokoja.
The project is also structured to accommodate groups that often face additional barriers to economic participation.
The facility will include accessible infrastructure for persons with disabilities and crèche services for women with young children.
While construction proceeds, SMEDAN, KOICA and UNDP are expected to work with universities, business incubators, financial institutions, private-sector organisations and entrepreneur networks to identify businesses that can participate in the centre’s programmes.
The partnership is backed by the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA, while SMEDAN serves as the Nigerian government partner and UNDP is involved in project delivery.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the facility was held in Abuja last week, marking the transition from planning to physical construction. At the ceremony, government and development partners presented the centre as part of efforts to connect skills development with enterprise creation, innovation, finance and employment.
Representing Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the ceremony, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, said the facility should produce practical outcomes rather than function simply as another public building.
He said entrepreneurs should be ready for incubation, institutional partners prepared to collaborate and pathways to finance and markets established by the time the facility becomes operational.
SMEDAN Director-General, Charles Odii, said the project was anchored on skills development, access to finance and markets, as well as productive infrastructure.
He said the facility would provide workspaces and specialist resources that many small businesses might find difficult to establish independently.
UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah, said young Nigerians and MSMEs still face difficulties accessing finance, digital infrastructure, business support and suitable innovation spaces.
She said the partnership was intended to help turn entrepreneurial ideas and capabilities into productive opportunities.
The Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Jeong Yo-an, described the project as part of the development partnership between both countries, saying Korea hoped the centre would help convert the creativity of young Nigerians into businesses, innovations and employment opportunities.
Tinubu said the Federal Government would continue to pursue partnerships aimed at strengthening local businesses and expanding opportunities for enterprise.
“We want more Nigerians to be able to start businesses, grow them and employ others,” he said.
He added that existing businesses also needed better access to tools and support if they were to become more productive.
The President thanked the Korean government for the $12 million investment and commended KOICA, UNDP and SMEDAN for advancing the project to the construction stage.
The centre is expected to add a physical hub to Nigeria’s existing network of entrepreneurship, digital-skills and MSME programmes. Its eventual impact, however, will depend on how effectively the facility connects entrepreneurs to training, finance, markets, technology and sustained business support once operations begin.
