Tinubu targets stronger support for SMEs, young entrepreneurs —Elumelu
Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is strongly committed to empowering small and medium scale enterprises
Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is strongly committed to empowering small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and young entrepreneurs as a core strategy for driving economic growth.
Elumelu spoke with journalists on Friday after a closed-door meeting with the President at the State House, Abuja, where he said discussions centred on expanding support for Nigerian entrepreneurs through policy reforms, development finance, and improved infrastructure.
According to him, President Tinubu was “very passionate” about “capacitising” small and medium scale entrepreneurs, describing them as the engine of economic growth.
“Today we talked about small and medium scale enterprises, about how to further support Nigerian medium, small scale enterprises. Mr. President is very passionate… about capacitizing the small and medium scale entrepreneurs in Nigeria… because they are the engine of economic growth”, Elumelu said.
He said the President also spoke extensively about the ongoing tax reforms and how they could be deployed to ease the burden on SMEs and help them grow.
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Elumelu added that Tinubu expressed satisfaction with the work of the Bank of Industry (BOI), noting that the President was keen on seeing the development finance institution do more for small businesses.
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“He spoke about the Bank of Industry and I was super impressed. He even called the name of the CEO… he likes what is going on, and he wants them to do more to support small and medium scale entrepreneurs in the country,” he said.
The Heirs Holdings chairman described the meeting as encouraging, saying the President’s focus aligns with the work of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which supports young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and across Africa.
“For me to be in the audience with Mr. President, and to be discussing this is super-elating, super-exciting. It showed there’s congruence and alignment, and I believe that this is what Nigerian youth need,” he said.
On his outlook for Nigeria’s economy in 2026, Elumelu said the monetary policy direction under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had improved predictability and stability, which he said was crucial for planning and investment.
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“If you see what the Central Bank Governor and his team are doing, it’s quite encouraging; we’ve had some predictability and stability,” he said.
He noted that pressure around access to foreign exchange had eased significantly, describing the FX market as “totally sorted.”
“I told someone, I said there was a time before that if I got 10 calls on banking issues, seven of those calls were about how to access foreign exchange. Today… not even one is on FX,” he said.
Elumelu also stressed that improved electricity supply remains critical for Nigeria’s economic development, saying the President showed commitment to fast-tracking payment of power sector debts owed to generating companies.
“Improvement in access to electricity is critical for economic development,” he said, adding that power firms were owed significantly but continued to generate electricity despite the debts.
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He said settling the outstanding obligations would strengthen the ability of generators to deliver more power to the national grid and support productivity.
In summary, Elumelu said he left the meeting impressed by Tinubu’s commitment to supporting SMEs, young entrepreneurs, and the power sector.
“I was impressed with Mr. President’s commitment to supporting small and medium scale enterprises… to young entrepreneurs… and to energizing the power sector so that we can power Nigeria’s economy,” he said.
