The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, has unveiled the Building Resilient Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs, BRYNE, Project, an initiative aimed at expanding entrepreneurship opportunities and support for young Nigerians across the country.
Announced as part of activities marking International Youth Day 2026, the project will combine enterprise training, incubation, mentorship, access to finance, market opportunities and business development support.
It is expected to reach more than 100,000 young Nigerians annually through a combination of physical and digital interventions.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said the initiative reflects the agency’s commitment to creating practical pathways for young Nigerians at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey.
“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.
“BRYNE brings several of those opportunities together, from training and incubation to finance, markets and mentorship. We want more young Nigerians to have a fair chance to build businesses that can survive, grow and create jobs,” Odii said.
The writer reports that the Head of SMEDAN’s Women and Youth Unit, Deputy Director Bimpe Fawale, said the project would be delivered through four major channels designed to reach young entrepreneurs in their communities, tertiary institutions and online.
According to her, the SMEDAN Incubation Programme, SIP, will support 600 young entrepreneurs annually in sectors including fashion, woodwork and agriculture, leveraging the agency’s network of Industrial Development Centres across the country.
She said the Campus Enterprise Engagement Platform would enable SMEDAN, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, to take enterprise support directly to tertiary institutions.
The platform will feature practical business workshops, advisory sessions, networking opportunities and exhibitions for student-owned businesses, with a target of up to 3,000 participants per participating campus.
Another component, the BRYNE Digital Connect, BDC, will deploy digital platforms to provide entrepreneurship education and promote conversations around innovation and business growth.
It will also spotlight youth-led and grassroots businesses, connect entrepreneurs with wider markets and build online communities focused on enterprise development.
The project will also feature a weekly hackathon for young startups, providing business education and enterprise opportunities to 5,000 young entrepreneurs. Fifty-two winners will be selected to receive ₦250,000 each in seed funding, with one winner emerging every week.
Fawale said the various components were designed to ensure that young entrepreneurs could access support according to their specific needs and stage of business development.
“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. BRYNE is designed to meet young entrepreneurs at those different stages and connect them to practical support,” she said.
Beneficiaries will also be linked to opportunities for business formalisation, funding, mentorship, investor and market linkages, business information and export support through SMEDAN and its partners.
The agency said the initiative builds on its broader efforts to expand opportunities for young Nigerians to participate productively in the economy and provide promising entrepreneurs with the support required to establish and grow sustainable businesses.
