If you are a young Nigerian entrepreneur looking for structured support to grow your business, the government just announced something worth knowing about.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, has launched the Building Resilient Young Nigerian Entrepreneurs Project, known as BRYNE. The initiative targets more than 100,000 young Nigerians annually. It combines enterprise training, incubation, mentorship, access to finance, etc, through both physical and digital platforms.

SMEDAN’s Director-General, Charles Odii, explained that BRYNE was designed to address one of the most common complaints among young entrepreneurs. This is finding the right support at the right stage of building a business. “We want more young Nigerians to have a chance to build businesses that can grow and create jobs,” he said.

What the program Actually Offers

BRYNE runs through four main channels. The first is the SMEDAN Incubation program. This will support 600 young entrepreneurs annually in sectors such as fashion, woodwork, and agriculture. It will achieve this through the agency’s network of Industrial Development centers across the country.

The second is the Campus Enterprise Engagement Platform, a partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education that brings entrepreneurship support directly to tertiary institutions. It will offer business workshops, advisory sessions, networking opportunities, and exhibitions for student-owned businesses, targeting up to 3,000 participants per campus.

The third channel is BRYNE Digital Connect, an online platform that provides entrepreneurship education, promotes youth-led businesses, and connects entrepreneurs with wider markets and online enterprise communities.

Finally, the program features a weekly startup hackathon targeting 5,000 young entrepreneurs. 52 winners will be selected every week. Each will receive ₦250,000 in seed funding to support their business ideas.

Why This Matters

BRYNE is structured to meet entrepreneurs at different stages. Whether you only have an idea or you already have a business running but need support.

For student entrepreneurs, especially, the Campus Enterprise Engagement Platform is a particularly exciting development. It brings support directly to where students already are. It also removes one of the biggest barriers young entrepreneurs face, which is access.

Keep an eye on SMEDAN’s official channels for updates on how to participate.