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FG Launches Intervention Program for Large, Medium Scale Enterprises
The Federal Government is working on an intervention program targeted towards large and medium-scale enterprises, tagged the “Business Champion Program”.
This was announced by Dr Jumoke Oduwole, the Special Adviser to the President on Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and Investment at First Bank’s Nigeria Economic Outlook 2024, on January 12, 2024.
Speaking on the panel session of the event-themed “Current Realities and Prospects”, Dr Jumoke highlighted the Business Champion Program as one of the five strategy pillars that PEBEC will be working with in 2024.
Speaking about the program, she noted, “Having worked with MSMEs for a few years, we realised that while systemic interventions from working on airports and seaports, we have to be more targeted.”
Adding, “The Business Champion intervention targets medium to larger-sized enterprises, and there are two parts to that program. The first part is to work with medium-sized enterprises and have a pilot program of about 25 of them.”
Oduwole highlighted that the selection of businesses will be based on factors such as their revenue, tax contributions, job creation, and export proceeds. She added that the intervention will be like a “bespoke service to help those companies navigate the business climate from the government side.”
Still on the intervention, Dr Jumoke Oduwole highlighted that there are only 23 companies with over $1 billion in annual revenue in Nigeria. Highlighting that the intervention program was targeted towards these companies.
She noted, “Out of the 334 in Africa, only 23 are in Nigeria.”
She noted that the decision to change models stems from the observation that larger businesses exhibit an “osmosis” effect, leading to the clustering of stakeholders.
Noting, “It was determined that we will need to have this new approach to move faster and to grow the economy faster in these turbulent times.”
Speaking at the event, Oduwole highlighted the five strategy pillars that PEBEC was working with in 2024, including,
The first being the Business Facilitation Act of 2022, which was signed into law in February 2023. The Act is a codification of the Executive Order No. 001 from 2017.
Second, Sub-national interventions, such as the World Bank’s State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Program-for-Results. Oduwole noted that there’s a $750 million grant available for implementation by states participating in the SABER program.
Third, Oduwole noted that on the legislative front, there will be a further review of the Omnibus bill.
She emphasized the collaborative efforts of various Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) who volunteered their expertise to review approximately 21 business climate laws in 2023, culminating in the formation of the 2023 Omnibus bill.
Additionally, she indicated that another round of reviews is slated for 2024 to create a new Omnibus bill.
Fourth, on the judicial front, she noted that the council will work with state judiciaries to facilitate the creation of “Small Claims Court”.
Noting that at the start of 2023, eight states had small claims courts in Nigeria, however, by the end of the year, 25 states had implemented it.
Fifth, was the Business Champions Program.
Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has awarded a total of N13 million in grants to three standout tech startups at the 2025 Techpreneur Summit held in Lagos, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and inclusive growth among Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The winners include: BuyScrap, a digital marketplace for recyclable materials – N6 million; Qiqi Farms, which connects local farmers to hospitality and export markets – N4 million; Eco-Cyclers, a youth-led recycling initiative based in Enugu – N3 million
Alongside the grant awards, DBN also launched a new digital data asset, a first-of-its-kind platform aimed at enabling data-driven decisions within the MSME ecosystem.
The platform offers deep insights into business trends, sector-specific challenges, and growth opportunities—supporting smarter policymaking and targeted investments.
In his keynote address in Lagos, Tony Okpanachi, managing director/ CEO, DBN, described the event’s theme, “CTRL + SHIFT: Tech Empowered Movement for Naija,” as a strategic call to reimagine enterprise development in Nigeria.
“This isn’t just a keyboard shortcut,” he said. “It’s a mindset reset—powered by technology—to build a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient business landscape. From financing to innovation, DBN remains committed to enabling MSMEs to thrive.”
Okpanachi emphasized that the Summit aligns with DBN’s AMPLIFI Strategy, which integrates digital transformation, sustainability, and scalability into its core programs.
He highlighted initiatives such as the Digital Shift Workshops and the Eco-Innovation Challenge as key steps toward embedding innovation in Nigeria’s MSME sector.
Encouraging young innovators, he added: “The future belongs to those bold enough to imagine and build it. DBN is proud to support the ideas that will shape tomorrow.”
A major highlight was the unveiling of the DBN Data Asset—a digital platform designed to provide real-time, evidence-based insights into Nigeria’s MSME landscape.
The platform combines DBN’s proprietary data with external sources like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to offer a comprehensive view of MSME performance by region and sector.
Jeremy Dan Okayi, DBN’s Head of Strategy, Policy & Innovation, described the platform as: “A reservoir of insight, potential, and direction—built on two years of collaboration and shared vision. This tool will support informed decision-making across the public and private sectors.”
News
FCCPC Shuts France, Belgium, and Italy Visa Centres in Abuja Over Alleged Consumer Rights Violations
In a bold enforcement action, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), supported by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has sealed off the visa application centres of France, Belgium, and Italy in Abuja over alleged consumer protection breaches and obstruction of regulatory investigations.
The affected centres—located at Mukhtar El-Yakub House in the Central Business District and operated by TLS Contact, a Teleperformance Company—were shut down following reports that they refused to accept formal correspondence from the FCCPC regarding a consumer complaint. The Commission cited further infractions, including obstruction of investigation and alleged assault of its officers during lawful duties.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Mrs. Boladale Adeyinka, Director of Surveillance and Investigations at the FCCPC, explained: “This is an enforcement operation against TLS. On March 25, 2025, we served them a letter to address a consumer complaint, which they refused to accept. Instead, TLS officers assaulted our team, and in a subsequent visit on June 17, they also allegedly assaulted uniformed police officers.”
Citing Section 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), Mrs. Adeyinka emphasized that failure to comply with Commission directives constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment, fines of up to ₦20 million, or both.
TLS has been ordered to appear before the Commission on June 20, 2025, to provide testimony, submit evidence, and make formal depositions. The company may be held liable for any financial losses suffered by applicants due to the disruption of visa services.
Despite multiple requests for comment, management at TLS Contact declined to respond as of press time.
Adedapo Segun, chief financial officer (CFO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has explained why there is a missing sum of N210 trillion in the company’s audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.
According to Segun, the missing funds are cash calls requested by joint venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.
He spokeat a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada.
Segun was responding to an alarm raised by the committee over missing N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statement.
Recall that Wadada issued a one-week ultimatum to NNPCL to account for the missing N210 trillion.
Reacting, Segun said, “The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.
“That is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.”
However, Habu Sadeik, a financial analyst, in a post on X on Thursday, said Segun’s response was unsatisfactory.
Saidik faulted NNPCL’s response about the fund discrepancies, noting that something is not right with the audited financial statement.
“Forget about the senators’ lack of knowledge.
“The CFO’s response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your FS only in 2024 without 31 disclosure?
“If it’s a cash call, why hasn’t the disclosure said so?
“Which cash call is over 100 trillion?
“Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that FS.
“Someone somewhere did a chef’s work,” he wrote on X.
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