The federal government and South Korea have inaugurated a new initiative to strengthen entrepreneurship and innovation across Nigeria.

The initiative is being implemented through the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) project, a partnership between the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The KOICA Nigeria Country Director, Eunsub Kim, described the project as a significant milestone in bilateral cooperation.

Mr Kim said the project would establish a world-class entrepreneurship and innovation centre to support Nigerian youths, startups and micro, small and medium enterprises.

He said ACE would provide entrepreneurship education, incubation services, innovation-driven training, mentorship and startup competitions.
According to him, the project will also facilitate strategic global partnerships and strengthen Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Mr Kim said sustainability remained central to the initiative, with plans to build an institution that would outlive the project’s implementation period.
He said stakeholders would spend four days developing governance and operational frameworks for the centre.

The country director added that discussions would focus on governance structures, workflows, performance management and operational guidelines.

Also speaking, ACE Project Manager, Prof. Gee-Hyun Hwang, said the project’s success would depend on collaboration among stakeholders.
Mr Hwang said participants would work toward a shared vision and sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem for Nigeria.

According to him, the initiative will contribute to entrepreneurship development, job creation and economic growth.

He said Nigeria was selected because of its large population, entrepreneurial potential and strategic importance to South Korea.
He described Nigeria as Korea’s priority partner in Africa for future economic cooperation and development initiatives.

The Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, described the ACE as more than a physical structure.

Mr Odii said the centre would serve as a platform connecting startups and small businesses with resources, opportunities and support services.

He said successful startup ecosystems around the world were built through deliberate investments in talent, innovation and infrastructure.

According to him, Nigeria and Korea are making similar investments through the ACE project.

Mr Odii said millions of dollars had been committed to deliver transformational benefits to Nigeria’s MSME ecosystem.

He said construction of the centre would begin in the coming weeks at SMEDAN’s industrial development centre in Abuja.

Mr Odii added that Nigerian businesses would begin accessing some project benefits within three months.

The ACE Project Coordinator, Onesi Lawani, said the initiative would focus largely on young Nigerians and women entrepreneurs.

Mr Lawani said the project would support tech-driven enterprises and help startups access training, mentorship and financing opportunities.

He added that training-of-trainers would commence in July, while selected entrepreneurs would later pitch to investors.

According to him, beneficiaries would also receive incubation support to grow their businesses.

Mr Lawani said the project was expected to run until 2028, with measures already being developed to ensure sustainability beyond that period.

(NAN)