Zoho Teams Up with SMEDAN to Empower 25,000 Nigerian MSMEs with Up to ₦20 Billion in Wallet Credits for Digital Growth
In a significant move to accelerate Nigeria’s digital transformation, global tech leader Zoho has partnered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). The collaboration aims to unlock affordable cloud technology for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide, with an ambitious plan to support 25,000 businesses through wallet credits valued at up to ₦20 billion.
This strategic alliance leverages SMEDAN’s extensive reach and mandate to promote MSME development, combined with Zoho’s innovative suite of scalable, cost-effective cloud-based business solutions. The initiative offers eligible MSMEs access to wallet credits that can be used across Zoho’s 60+ applications, including Zoho Workplace, Zoho Books, and Bigin CRM, empowering businesses to streamline operations, boost productivity, and scale effectively.
Aligned with SMEDAN’s GROW Nigerian strategy—which emphasizes formalization, access to finance, market expansion, and digital adoption—the partnership forms part of a broader effort to integrate MSMEs into Nigeria’s formal economy. This includes an ongoing collaboration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to facilitate free registration for 250,000 businesses, opening new pathways for growth and resilience.
“Our focus at SMEDAN is to ensure that small businesses are able to move from survival to growth and prosperity. That means helping entrepreneurs formalise, improve productivity, reach new markets and build businesses that can compete,” said Charles Odii, Director General/CEO of SMEDAN. “Digital capability is now an important part of that journey, and this partnership with Zoho gives thousands of MSMEs within our ecosystem another practical pathway to strengthen how they operate and grow.”
Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head of Zoho Nigeria, emphasized the transformative potential of the partnership: “MSMEs are fundamental to Nigeria’s economic development, but technology can only deliver its full potential when businesses are able to access and effectively use it. Through this partnership with SMEDAN, we are reducing the access barrier to adopting world-class business technology while providing businesses with the training, consultation and support they need to leverage cloud technology to streamline their operations, and catapult their growth. The partnership also reflects Zoho’s transnational localism strategy, which combines our global technology expertise with efforts to create self-sustaining local economic clusters. Through this approach, we aim to deepen our contribution to Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and support the development of a more digitally-enabled and resilient MSME sector.”
In addition to wallet credits, participating MSMEs will benefit from comprehensive training sessions, workshops, and personalized business consultations designed to foster practical digital skills. Zoho and SMEDAN will collaborate on outreach efforts, programme implementation, and ongoing monitoring to ensure maximum impact and adoption.
This partnership marks a pivotal step in Nigeria’s journey toward a digitally empowered MSME landscape—supporting entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge, and resources needed to thrive in today’s competitive economy.
