Tinubu said entrepreneurs should not be forced to spend millions of naira on industrial machinery or construct entire factories before they can expand their businesses.
According to the President, the Federal Government is investing in shared MSME facilities through the National MSME Clinics under the Renewed Hope administration to reduce the cost of doing business and enable small enterprises to increase production.
“A tailor should not need millions of naira to buy industrial machinery before she can grow her business. A food processor should not have to build a factory before producing at scale,” Tinubu said.
He added that the government was providing entrepreneurs with access to modern equipment, reliable power and production facilities without requiring individual businesses to bear the entire cost of establishing such infrastructure.
Tinubu disclosed that 21 shared infrastructure facilities have been established across 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with the facilities supporting businesses and an estimated 650,000 jobs.
The State House has separately reported that the Expanded National MSME Clinics have been operating across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones, while the shared facilities provide entrepreneurs with access to machinery, high-speed internet and collaborative production spaces.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima had earlier disclosed that the administration had institutionalised 21 state-of-the-art shared infrastructure facilities, describing them as part of efforts to decentralise economic opportunities and remove barriers confronting small businesses.
The facilities cover different areas of enterprise, including fashion, manufacturing, technology and other productive activities.
Tinubu said Nigeria's major challenge was not a shortage of entrepreneurial ideas, skills or ambition but inadequate access to the infrastructure and tools needed to turn those ideas into sustainable businesses.
“Nigerians do not lack ideas, skill or ambition. Too often, they lack access to the tools and infrastructure needed to turn them into successful businesses,” the President said.
He said the responsibility of government was to remove such barriers and create conditions that would allow entrepreneurs to produce more efficiently.
According to him, when small businesses have access to better equipment and infrastructure, they can increase output, reduce production costs and become more competitive.
Tinubu said stronger MSMEs would translate into more employment, increased household income and wider economic opportunities for Nigerians.
“When small businesses can produce more, at lower cost, they become more competitive. They grow. They employ more people. They create income and opportunity for Nigerian families,” he said.
The President's position is consistent with the administration's broader MSME policy, which has included financing interventions alongside shared infrastructure.
In June, the State House said the Federal Government had deployed a ₦75 billion MSME Intervention Fund and a ₦50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme to expand access to capital for enterprises.
The administration has also continued to expand entrepreneurship infrastructure. On September 23, Tinubu welcomed a $12 million Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship, being developed with support from the Republic of Korea through KOICA, alongside SMEDAN and UNDP. The centre is designed to provide workspaces, digital facilities, training, incubation and enterprise support for entrepreneurs and MSMEs.
Tinubu said the government's approach was aimed at building prosperity from the grassroots by ensuring that Nigerian businesses have the tools required to start, survive and expand.
“Giving Nigerian enterprise the tools to succeed is how we build prosperity from the ground up. That is the Nigeria we are building,” he said.
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