The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have agreed to deepen institutional collaboration. The partnership will concentrate on youth empowerment, cybersecurity awareness, capacity building, and ethical business operations.
The agreement emerged following a courtesy visit by SMEDAN Director-General Charles Odii to EFCC Executive Chairman Ola Olukoyede in Abuja.
During the engagement, Odii highlighted that government agency inter-agency synergy is critical to delivering President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Nigeria’s expanding youth population. He stressed that effectively empowering young people demands a comprehensive strategy integrating technical skills, commercial opportunities, mentorship, digital training, financial literacy, and lawful enterprise practices.
According to a press statement released on Thursday by Moshood Lawal, Head of SMEDAN’s Corporate Affairs Unit, both agency heads resolved to foster joint knowledge sharing and capacity building. Under the dynamic, relevant modules of the Inspire, Create, Start and Scale (ICSS) curriculum will be incorporated into the EFCC’s cybersecurity training initiatives. Concurrently, the anti-graft agency will participate in SMEDAN programmes aimed at fostering heightened awareness of financial integrity and legal compliance among young business owners.
Olukoyede commended SMEDAN’s focus on youth capability schemes, noting that equipping young Nigerians with practical economic opportunities serves to prevent them from taking a path of negative vices with an “unsavory impact” on the country’s economy and national reputation. He added that the joint framework will ensure emerging entrepreneurs are well prepared to start and scale businesses safely while navigating the digital economy lawfully.