The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has launched the Building Resilient Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs Project (BRYNE), which will support more than 100,000 young Nigerians every year.
The agency announced the programme on August 14, 2026, as part of its activities for International Youth Day 2026. BRYNE will provide enterprise training, incubation, mentorship, finance, market access and business development support through physical and digital channels.
SMEDAN Director-General and Chief Executive Officer Charles Odii said the agency designed BRYNE to support young people with business ideas as well as those already running enterprises.
“Across the country, we meet young people with ideas, skills and businesses that can grow, but many still struggle to find the right support at the right time.”
Odii said the programme would bring several forms of assistance under one initiative.
“BRYNE brings several of those opportunities together, from training and incubation to finance, markets and mentorship.”
He added: “We want more young Nigerians to have a fair chance to build businesses that can survive, grow and create jobs.”
Meanwhile, SMEDAN’s Women and Youth Unit will deliver BRYNE through four channels covering enterprise incubation, tertiary institutions, digital platforms and a startup hackathon.
The SMEDAN Incubation Programme will support 600 young entrepreneurs each year in sectors such as fashion, woodwork and agriculture through the agency’s Industrial Development Centres. The Campus Enterprise Engagement Platform will take business workshops, advisory services, networking and exhibitions to tertiary institutions in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education.
In addition, BRYNE Digital Connect will provide entrepreneurship education and link youth-led businesses with wider markets. The programme will also run a weekly startup hackathon for 5,000 young entrepreneurs.
SMEDAN will select 52 hackathon winners, with each receiving ₦250,000 in seed funding for their business ideas.
Bimpe Fawale, Deputy Director and Head of SMEDAN’s Women and Youth Unit, said the programme would address different requirements among young entrepreneurs.
“Some need help turning an idea into a business. Others already have businesses but need finance, mentorship, better market access or the right information to take the next step.”
Fawale said beneficiaries would also receive connections to business formalisation, funding, investors, markets, business information and export opportunities.
