Investment Climate Reform Facility

The ICR Facility is one of British Council’s global Non-Formal Education (NFE) programmes co-funded by the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the British Council. It is jointly implemented with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Expertise France (EF), and Stichting Nederlandse Ontwikkelingsorganisatie (Netherlands Development Organisation, SNV).

The ICR Facility supports ACP countries to create a more conducive and sustainable business environment and investment climate, especially in support of women´s and youth’s economic empowerment. The ICR Facility provides the tools, resources, evidence etc. to public (e.g., Ministries/Departments/Agencies, etc.) and private (e.g., Employers’ associations, Chamber of Commerce, Business Member organisations, etc.) stakeholders, to undertake business environment and investment climate improvements (in various areas) that support the inclusion of young people and women in the economy agenda of ACP countries.

The ICR Facility has provided technical assistance to SMEDAN to support the implementation of the National MSME policy in Nigeria. Additionally, the Facility has provided technical assistance to SMEDAN aimed improving access to finance for women-owned businesses. Read more below..

2021

NAME OF REQUESTER ORGANISATION: Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in joint request with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry

PROJECT NAME: Supporting the implementation of the National MSME Policy in Nigeria

CONTEXT: The MSME sector in Nigeria contributes to 50% of the GDP and 80% of employment in the country. In 2007, the National Policy on MSMEs for Nigeria was launched to promote the development of MSMEs. In March 2021, after a review of the policy, a revised National Policy on MSMEs in Nigeria (2021-2025 edition) was approved by the Federal Executive Council. The National Policy on MSMEs in Nigeria (2021-2025 edition) is expected to promote the growth of MSME in Nigeria. To achieve this expected outcome, there was the need to properly coordinate the efforts of the various institutions who would be involved in the implementation of the policy. There was also the need to put in place an enhanced Monitoring and Evaluation system to track the progress of the implementation of the policy.

OBJECTIVE: The technical assistance was to develop a long-term coordination mechanism and an enhanced Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system for the implementation of the National MSME Policy in Nigeria using a Public-Private Dialogue process.

RESULT: The intervention conducted 16 PPD sessions at both the national level and across the geopolitical zones of Nigeria and used the inputs from the sessions to develop a long-term coordination mechanism and an enhanced Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system for the implementation of the National MSME Policy in Nigeria. Capacity training of selected SMEDAN staff on the use of these two tools were also delivered with the staff confirming an improved capacity to oversee the implementation of the National Policy on MSMEs in Nigeria (2021-2025 edition).

2023

NAME OF REQUESTER ORGANISATION: Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

PROJECT NAME: Improving access to finance for women owned businesses in Nigeria

CONTEXT: Contributions of women to the promotion and growth of the MSME sector and the development and productivity of the economy is recognised in Nigeria’s National Policy on MSMEs (2021-2025), which considers women-owned enterprises as special target enterprises. It is well documented that women-owned enterprises generally lag in the MSME sector for several reasons including societal and cultural norms, government policies, etc. This is further compounded by their low access to key factors of production and more importantly, their access to finance. However, uptake of financial products and interventions developed for women owned enterprises in Nigeria is low.

OBJECTIVE: The ICR Facility is therefore providing technical assistance to SMEDAN to:

1. Undertake a technical study to gather insight on the issues that lead to the low response to financial interventions among women owned businesses.

2. Facilitate wider stakeholder engagement with public institutions and private sector stakeholders on developing gender responsive financial interventions (policy, programme, and products) for women owned businesses in Nigeria.

RESULT: It is expected that at the end of the intervention, the broad spectrum of actors (SMEDAN, Banks, MSME groups, Development Finance Organisations, NGOs, State MSME Development MDAs) will have increased evidence and tools to design and deliver gender responsive financial interventions (policy, programme and products) for women owned enterprises in Nigeria. This will consequently lead to

1. Women Owned Businesses utilising finance interventions and products to increase productivity, create jobs and achieve enhanced resilience.

2. Increased supply and demand for women-specific access to finance interventions.