Think Tank Urges Nigeria to Build Industrial Power from Small Businesses Up

A leading policy research organization is pushing Nigerian leaders to flip the script on economic development by placing everyday entrepreneurs and small firms front and center in the country's push toward full-scale industrialization.

The FATE Institute argues that true progress will come not from grand top-down projects alone, but by supercharging the millions of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises that already form the backbone of the economy. This fresh perspective emerges just ahead of the institute's upcoming 2025 Policy Dialogue Series, titled "From Enterprise to Industry: Unlocking MSME Potential for Nigeria’s Industrialization."

Amaka Nwaokolo, who heads the institute, explained that their work focuses on turning solid research into practical policies that actually help business owners on the ground. "Entrepreneurship drives growth that benefits everyone," she said. "When we truly grasp the daily challenges faced by small operators, we can craft rules that clear obstacles and let their ideas flourish."

Cecilia Akintomide, chair of the event's technical committee, echoed the sentiment, stressing that Nigeria cannot afford to keep treating big industry and small-scale entrepreneurship as unrelated worlds. "The real key to industrial takeoff lies in how effectively we help these smaller players become more productive and expand," she pointed out. "Future industrial strategies have to create clear pathways for them to grow into larger operations."

Adding weight to the discussion, senior researcher Dr. Wilson Erumebor shared encouraging new findings from the institute's latest entrepreneurship index. For the first time since tracking began, the national score edged up to 0.47 this year. Particularly heartening were signs of strength among younger owners, with nearly 66 percent of youth-led companies reporting expansion. Women entrepreneurs stood out even more, as almost 70 percent of female-run businesses posted gains, surpassing their male counterparts.

"These numbers prove one thing clearly," Erumebor noted. "Give women entrepreneurs just a bit more backing, and they produce outstanding outcomes that lift the whole economy."

With these insights, the upcoming dialogue promises lively debate on how best to weave support for small businesses into broader industrial plans, potentially charting a more inclusive route to Nigeria's long-term prosperity.