The European Union (EU) has approved €1.1 billion to support the African Union (AU) in its implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), reaffirming its partnership with Africa in building a more integrated, inclusive, and industrialised continent.
The Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo De Luca, made this disclosure during the opening session of the 4th African Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Forum on Monday in Abuja.
He said: “Our EU initiative in support of the African Union in the implementation of AfCFTA hovers around €1.1 billion. The AfCFTA represents an unprecedented achievement towards realising Africa’s full economic potential and integration.”
De Luca described access to finance as a major challenge for MSMEs across the continent, stressing that the EU remained committed to supporting inclusive and sustainable industrial development, particularly for small businesses that power local economies.
- Advertisement -
Declaring the forum open, Nigeria’s Vice President, Sen.Kashim Shettima, said Africa’s economic future depended not in its skyscrapers or trading floors but in the untapped potential of the informal sector, which constitutes nearly 90 per cent of the continent’s workforce.
Shettima cautioned that failure to bring the informal economy into the formal intra-African trade system would keep the continent trapped in a “cycle of despair.
The Vice President maintained: “There can be no African prosperity without a strong MSME ecosystem. We must integrate our informal economy into the AfCFTA framework. This forum is a continental call to action.”
While noting that MSMEs contribute 48% to Nigeria’s GDP and employ over 84% of the workforce in 2024 and describing them as the engine of inclusive growth and effective tools for poverty reduction, Shettima said “they are a mirror to our future, and they explain why we are deepening investments to expand the capacity of this sector.”
He listed digital innovation, market access, and affordable financing, the key pillars of the forum’s theme, as critical to empowering MSMEs, commended African nations’ growing digital adoption, and urged the governments to sustain investments in infrastructure, bridge the digital literacy gap, and establish pro-innovation regulations.
In his remarks at the event Deputy Chief of Staff to the President and Chair of the Host Country Committee, Sen. Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for a future where MSMEs are not just surviving but thriving.
According to him, the forum signifies the shared commitment of all stakeholders to a prosperous and inclusive Africa and investments in MSMEs is a direct investment in the continent’s economic future.
Speaking at the forum, Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, urged Nigerians to patronise locally made goods as a deliberate effort to support MSMEs.
This is even as the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Olasupo Olusi, said the bank’s interventions had enhanced digital capabilities and business knowledge among MSMEs, contributing to sectoral growth.
On the export aspect, Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Abubakar Abba Bello, reiterated the bank’s commitment to MSME financing and value chain development, describing it as vital for AfCFTA success.
The banker said: “We must look inward to strengthen production and facilitate the success of AfCFTA. MSMEs are key to value chain integration.”
Speaking from a development partner’s perspective, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah, stressed that MSMEs across Africa cannot thrive on resilience alone.
She explained: “They need ecosystems that work—platforms to commercialise innovation, access to working capital, and both domestic and continental markets that recognise their value.”
The 4th AU MSMEs Forum featured key players from government, development institutions, and the private sector as part of their collective drive to empower small businesses, deepen regional integration, and realise the promise of the AfCFTA.
