Abuja, Nigeria, 17 September 2026- The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today broke ground for the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE), a new entrepreneurship and innovation facility designed to strengthen opportunities for young entrepreneurs, women, start-ups, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Abuja and across the Northern region.

The ACE is funded by KOICA with a contribution of US$12 million and delivered through a partnership in which SMEDAN serves as the government partner and UNDP as the infrastructure delivery partner. The Centre will provide purpose-built infrastructure for entrepreneurship development, digital training, incubation, co-working, enterprise support, and innovation.

The groundbreaking marks a significant milestone in the Korea-Nigeria development partnership and the transition of the ACE project from design and preparation into physical delivery. The project follows the completion of feasibility work, site selection, partnership formalisation and site preparation works by SMEDAN at its Idu Industrial Development Center in Abuja.

Delivering his remarks at the Groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Charles Odii, Director- General/CEO of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), noted that SMEDAN's GROW Nigerian Strategy guided this milestone: 

“We have made skills development, access to finance and markets, and productive infrastructure central to fulfilling our mandate to build the enterprises that will carry this economy forward. The Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship gives that commitment a physical home. This partnership with KOICA and UNDP strengthens SMEDAN’s capacity to deliver at scale, and it speaks directly to the Federal Government’s priority of job creation, industrialisation and an economy powered by its young people. The Center will give more entrepreneurs access to workspaces and specialist facilities they would struggle to provide on their own.”

Speaking at the Groundbreaking Ceremony, Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah, UNDP Nigeria Resident Representative, noted that the Centre would help translate Nigeria’s demographic potential into sustainable businesses and decent jobs.

“Partnerships such as this are most valuable when they respond to national priorities and leave behind stronger institutions and greater opportunities for people. Our partnership with SMEDAN has already demonstrated what this can look like in practice. In 2024, UNDP supported the solarisation of SMEDAN's Common Facility Centre here in Idu through a 120 KVA solar-powered mini-grid. It was a practical investment. For UNDP, being part of ACE is therefore about more than supporting a facility. It is about working with Nigerian institutions to create an environment in which people can turn their capabilities and ideas into productive opportunities."

With more than 75 million Nigerians aged between 15 and 35, Nigeria has enormous potential to leverage its young population as a driver of economic transformation. However, young people and MSMEs continue to face barriers including limited access to finance, digital infrastructure, business support and appropriate innovation spaces. The ACE is designed to help address these constraints by providing a dedicated physical and institutional platform for entrepreneurship development.

The Centre is expected to support prospective young Nigerian entrepreneurs, start-ups in FinTech, EdTech, HealthTech and AgriTech, and MSMEs from Abuja and surrounding cities, with wider indirect benefits across Nigeria. Its facilities will include time-share offices, hot-desking, meeting rooms, training and incubation spaces.

The Centre’s design places inclusion and sustainability at its core. ACE will be fully accessible to persons with disabilities and older persons and will incorporate gender-responsive features, including provision for crèche facilities. The building will also incorporate green design principles, including renewable energy, low embodied-carbon technologies, and locally sourced bio- renewable materials.

In his remarks at the ceremony, His Excellency Jeong Yo-An, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, noted that the project represents a further investment in Nigeria’s innovation, entrepreneurship, and MSME ecosystem and reflects KOICA’s commitment to strengthening science, technology, and innovation-led development.

“The Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship will be a platform for innovation, a home for entrepreneurs, a catalyst for enterprise development, and a bridge between ideas and investment. By strengthening businesses, improving access to digital skills and supporting innovation, the Center can contribute to a stronger enterpreneurial ecosystem across the Federal Capital Territory and the wider region beyond."

The partnership brings together the complementary strengths of the three institutions: SMEDAN’s mandate and institutional reach in supporting Nigeria’s MSME ecosystem, KOICA’s development cooperation and investment, and UNDP’s technical and development implementation expertise.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, the partners intend to build an active entrepreneurship ecosystem around ACE. The project will engage incubators, universities, financial institutions, private-sector actors and entrepreneur networks to develop a pipeline of ventures ahead of the Centre’s completion. This includes an ACE Incubation Pipeline, through which partner incubators and universities can run affiliated programmes during construction and contribute to the Centre’s first intake once operational. The Centre will also connect entrepreneurs to relevant government and private-sector institutions working across business registration, digital innovation, skills development, investment, export promotion, finance and enterprise support.

The groundbreaking ceremony brought together senior government officials, development partners, private-sector representatives, financial institutions, innovation hubs, universities, entrepreneurs, and representatives of women and persons with disabilities, reflecting the broad ecosystem that ACE is intended to serve.

As construction begins, SMEDAN, KOICA, and UNDP reaffirm their commitment to delivering a Centre that provides the infrastructure and support needed to expand entrepreneurship, innovation, skills, investment and inclusive economic opportunity for Nigerian youth and enterprises.

Media Contacts:
For SMEDAN
Prince Moshood Lawal |mlawal@smedan.gov.ng

For UNDP
Ms. Christabel Chanda Ginsberg
Public Engagement, Outreach & Partnerships Lead | christabel.chanda-ginsberg@undp.org