Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, has announced plans by the ministry to conduct a nationwide census of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in 2025, as part of its economic growth and industrial transformation strategy.
Dr Oduwole disclosed in the ministry’s 2025 outlook document that the census was a critical step toward “conducting a nationwide census to establish a precise, data-driven roadmap for empowering MSMEs.”
She described 2025 as a pivotal year for the country’s economic diversification efforts, promising measurable impacts through policy reforms and strategic initiatives.
“The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment has commenced a new chapter in driving Nigeria’s economic diversification by implementing targeted policies and reforms to accelerate industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and innovation,” the report by Punch newspaper on Monday quoted Dr. Oduwole as saying.
She added that the ministry would remain focused on strengthening trade policy implementation, fostering private-sector competitiveness, and ensuring businesses thrive in local and global markets.
“Our goal is to facilitate the creation of wealth, productive jobs, and shared prosperity for all Nigerians,” she noted.
Highlighting the ministry’s 2025 outlook, she stated that the ministry’s initiatives will focus on three critical areas: economic diversification, trade revenue growth, and investment mobilisation.
The ministry, she noted, will accelerate industrialisation by engaging initiatives including rehabilitating export processing zones, prioritising intellectual property protection, and promoting tech and artificial intelligence for trade and investment.
According to the FMITI 2025 outlook, the ministry aims to ensure exportable food products meet international safety standards in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.
Further, the ministry noted it plans to revise the country’s trade and investment strategies to support an export-led economy.
Oduwole emphasised the African Continental Free Trade Area to champion trade and enter preferential trade agreements with key countries to boost foreign exchange earnings.
She stated that the ministry’s efforts will focus on retaining domestic investors, modernising the regulatory framework, establishing sub-national One-Stop Investment Centers and launching an investment portal to track and promote investment flows holistically.
