Ten Nigerian start-ups have secured N21 million in grants and an all-expenses-paid trip to South Korea under a Nigerian-Korean initiative aimed at accelerating innovation, strengthening business capacity and expanding opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
The beneficiaries emerged at the final pitch competition of the Start-up Innovation Academy Project, also known as the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship, ACE, held on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria in Abuja.
The initiative, implemented through a partnership between the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA, seeks to equip emerging businesses with the skills, funding, mentorship and international exposure needed to develop sustainable and competitive enterprises.
In a statement on Friday, the Head of Corporate Affairs at SMEDAN, Prince Moshood Lawal, said the competition marked an important stage in efforts to translate entrepreneurship training into tangible business opportunities.
He explained that the grants would help the beneficiaries strengthen their operations and develop their products and services, while the South Korean trip would expose them to international innovation ecosystems, entrepreneurial practices and emerging business opportunities.
The competition brought together 10 selected start-ups, which presented their business ideas and demonstrated the commercial viability of their innovations before a panel of judges and other stakeholders in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Industry, Senator John Ewan Onoh, stressed the importance of empowering young Nigerians to drive innovation, enterprise development and job creation.
He said initiatives that equip young entrepreneurs with relevant skills and opportunities were essential to building a productive and competitive economy in line with President Bola Tinubu’s eight-point agenda.
The Director-General of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, emphasised the need for strategic partnerships to strengthen the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises, MSMEs, noting that entrepreneurship support must extend beyond training to include access to finance, mentorship, incubation and markets.
According to him, the ACE Project demonstrates the value of international cooperation in building local entrepreneurial capacity and preparing Nigerian innovators to compete in an increasingly digital and knowledge-driven economy.
Odii reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting MSMEs through targeted interventions and institutional partnerships designed to promote innovation, productivity, employment and inclusive economic growth.
Also speaking, Professor Gee Hyun Hwang, ACE Project Director at Soongsil University, South Korea, commended the participants for their creativity and commitment to developing innovative business solutions.
He highlighted the importance of sustained capacity building, mentorship and collaboration in helping start-ups develop scalable businesses capable of competing in wider markets.
The partnership with KOICA and Soongsil University is expected to strengthen knowledge transfer, improve entrepreneurial development and connect Nigerian businesses with international expertise and best practices.
One of the beneficiaries, Aisha Aminu Mohammed of Tita Universal Services Ltd, expressed delight at the opportunity, describing the capacity-building training, mentorship and support provided through SMEDAN’s initiative as invaluable.
The N21 million grant package, alongside the international exposure, underscores the project’s approach of combining financial assistance with practical business development support to help young entrepreneurs turn innovative ideas into viable enterprises.
