Nigerian MSMEs need patient capital to scale businesses – Covenant Capital

Obafemi Darabidan, head of department, Covenant Capital, said Nigerian micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) require patient capital with reasonable single-digit interest rate to scale their businesses.

He made this known during the recent one-day SME Funding conference organised by Covenant Capital, an arm of the Covenant Nation, with the theme, ‘Unlocking Capital, Accessing Funding Opportunities for Sustainable Business Growth.’

According to him, Covenant Capital has come to become a resource center within the church space. “So, we wanted to put up a conference that will point people in directions where they can actually source cheaper capital and also patient capital,” Darabidan said.

He said that beyond accessing cheaper funds, one of the primary reasons the church is hosting SMEs funding conferences, was to point people to funding opportunities that can help augment their purchasing power in order to do business.

Darabidan said that the church is leveraging on the SMEs funding conference to raise the consciousness of participants to accessing cheap funding to scale their businesses. According to him, the conference was important because of the need for financial literacy and also to help build participants’ understanding of how to access funding opportunities.

Darabidan also disclosed that Covenant Capital intends to organise a series of masterclasses and workshops, as follow-up to the funding conference. He disclosed that the practical sessions will help entrepreneurs better position their businesses to access funding. “We believe that opportunities follow knowledge.”

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According to him, the church will have a grant event that will see MSMEs pitch their ideas, businesses as a fallout of the masterclasses and bootcamp, on the back of the church’s senior pastor’s mandate, to support businesses within the church this year. “It’s a three-day bootcamp. 13 to 15, August 2025. Then we’ll be able to give grants to businesses.”

Yemi Keri, board chair, Lagos Angel Investors Network and keynote speaker, said that running a business in Nigeria requires grit, innovation and an almost relentless sense of hope. She said that the funding landscape in Nigeria is opening up.

“But things are changing, we are witnessing an evolution in the funding ecosystem from traditional bank loans to newer more flexible and inclusive models,” Keri said.

According to her, only 11 percent of MSMEs have accessed any form of credit from banks and government agencies, despite the size and significance of small businesses to Nigeria’s economic sustenance.

Panelists urged business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to collaborate more and leverage technology. Chukwuemeka Okeke, senior programmes coordinator, LEAP Africa, said that with ESG and the world going green, business owners must be intentional about the impact and sustainability of their businesses.

Juliet Aigbe, founder, Domestic Grains Initiative, said business owners must learn to separate their business from their person. She also urged entrepreneurs to understand how to structure their cost. “Come and do the cost structure. How much should I sell; how much should I keep. Don’t just tell me – do your books, show me how,” she said.