SMEDAN Seeks EFCC Backing to Promote Made-in-Nigeria Goods and Youth Skills
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has formally sought the support of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to promote made-in-Nigeria products and expand opportunities for young people through skills development and entrepreneurship.
SMEDAN Director-General and Chief Executive Officer Charles Odii made the request on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, when he led a delegation on a courtesy visit to EFCC Executive Chairman Ola Olukoyede at the Commission’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
Odii opened with warm praise for the EFCC boss. “Executive Chairman, I want to thank you. I want to start with gratitude. I want to thank you for the work that you have done in the last 34 months.
You have tried to change the face of Nigeria outside Nigeria. So, with that, I want to thank you, and thank you for instituting confidence and trust again in Nigeria,” he said.
He outlined SMEDAN’s ongoing efforts to equip young Nigerians with practical skills and turn them into entrepreneurs. The agency has secured approval from the Ministry of Education to establish the Inspire, Create, Start, and Scale (ICSS) Institute.
The institute will offer National Diploma programmes while embedding entrepreneurship training, with the clear goal of producing solid entrepreneurs for the Nigerian ecosystem.
Odii also highlighted SMEDAN’s work inside prisons. The agency trains inmates who have about six months left on their sentences, giving them skills that have proved life-changing.
A national MSME policy currently being prepared for presentation to the President includes a provision encouraging small businesses to employ rehabilitated former inmates who are apologetic and skilled.
Collaboration with the EFCC’s Cybersecurity Research and Training Centre featured prominently in the discussion. Odii offered to embed SMEDAN’s curriculum and technical expertise into the centre.
He further proposed joint programmes to rehabilitate young people involved in cybercrime through skills acquisition and entrepreneurship support, helping them reintegrate productively into society.
Olukoyede welcomed the proposals and expressed the Commission’s readiness to partner with SMEDAN on the promotion of Nigeria-made goods, youth empowerment, skills development, and cybercrime prevention. “I have been following your activities.
And I’m very proud of you. You are one of the young men that we look up to,” the EFCC Chairman told Odii.
He stressed that developing legitimate skills and economic opportunities remains central to tackling cybercrime. “I’m interested in anything that will help to develop skills for young men. Because that is one of the challenges I have,” Olukoyede said.
He described the damage cybercrime inflicts on Nigeria’s economy and international reputation as unquantifiable, noting that some perpetrators can disrupt the entire financial ecosystem with a single action.
The EFCC Chairman disclosed that the Cybersecurity Research and Training Centre is expected to train an average of 500 intakes at a time, with government support already secured. He invited SMEDAN to join the project from conception through to operationalization, given the natural overlap with the agency’s mandate.
Olukoyede also pledged backing for the ICSS initiative and other youth-focused programmes. He urged Nigerians, including staff within the EFCC community, to deliberately patronize locally produced goods.
“Congrats for pushing all these. So, those of you buying things in my office, henceforth, patronize this. We need to support them… Support these young people. It is when these businesses grow that’s when we can grow our own nation, too,” he said.
A highlight of the visit was the presentation of sample products made under SMEDAN’s Guidance, Resources, Opportunity, and Workforce (G-R-O-W) support initiative.
The items included hibiscus tea, coffee, wax candles, cassava biscuits and native fabric.
Olukoyede further suggested that the government should develop a national policy on Nigeria-made goods to encourage local production and economic growth.
He called for practical, collaborative solutions that move young people away from crime and contribute to the broader success of the current administration.
The meeting signals a practical alignment between Nigeria’s foremost anti-corruption agency and its primary SME development body.
By linking the promotion of homemade products, structured skills training, inmate rehabilitation and cybercrime prevention, both institutions are positioning themselves to tackle youth unemployment and economic crime at their roots while strengthening confidence in locally made goods.
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