5 Places to Get Funding for Your Small Business in Lagos

Almost everyone who launches a new business venture seeks funding to keep going. Getting funding for your small business in the form of grants can be one of the fastest and least burdensome ways to raise money for your business.

Unfortunately, there aren’t very many incentives for small enterprises offered by Nigeria’s federal or state governments.

Grants don’t have to be repaid, unlike other loans, so there’s no concern about term length, interest rates, or refinancing.

Simply meet the requirements, and the money is yours. Most of this funding for your small business is sponsored by public and private organisations. Let’s take a look at a few.

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1. YouWIN Connect Nigeria 

YouWiN Connect is a multimedia programme of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The programme aims to promote entrepreneurship, job creation and wealth via enterprise education for young Nigerians. 

Nigerian entrepreneurs will enhance their productivity through relevant SME development tools. These ventures are promoted by young Nigerians in target sectors that align with the government’s objective of diversifying the economy and promoting competition and transparency.

2. Bank Of Industry (BOI) funding is perfect for your small business 

Young and skilled entrepreneurs wishing to enter different sectors of Nigeria’s economy can now take advantage of a programme for youth empowerment introduced by the BOI.

By enhancing young capacity and supporting their business ideas, BOI’s Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) Programme seeks to solve the alarming situation of youth unemployment in Nigeria.

The YES programme aims to give young people the necessary knowledge and skills to become self-employed by launching and running their own enterprises.

3. GroFin Fund 

An innovative development lender, GroFin focuses on funding and assisting small and growing businesses in Africa and the Middle East. To help emerging market businesses grow, GroFin combines patient funding with specialised business support.

They focus on small businesses underserved by other funds or lenders. GroFin provides startup and expanding enterprises at the SME base with an innovative integrated solution for patient risk financing and comprehensive business assistance. It has a fund size of more than $100 million to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

4. Diamond Bank BET Programme

 Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET) is intended to help aspiring business owners. Each year, 50 entrepreneurs are chosen from among the many submitted applications, and they go through an intensive six-month training programme in business and entrepreneurship.

The top five entrepreneurs get grants after the training to serve as seed capital for expanding their businesses.

There have been six iterations of the BET Program, with more than 25 winners and more than 150 company sponsors. The top five finalists in the sixth iteration of the programme received awards totalling N3,000,000 to help them expand their businesses.

5. Lagos State Entrepreneurs Trust Fund (LSETF)

The LSETF was established in 2016 to provide business funding and create employment for Lagos residents. 

The LSETF is a tool that encourages all Lagos people to be creative and innovative while lowering unemployment rates throughout the State. The agency’s mandate is to invest 25 billion directly in Lagos-based MSMEs and develop the skills they need to find better economic opportunities.

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