The Kaduna Business School, in collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), has trained 95 Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) to facilitate access to finance for agricultural Small and Medium Enterprises (agri-SMEs) in Nasarawa, Niger and Kaduna states.

The participating enterprises, led by youth and women entrepreneurs from Kaduna, Niger and Nasarawa States, earned their places through a competitive process. From an initial shortlist of 200 applicants, a review panel selected the 30 strongest business plans. The selected entrepreneurs then received intensive investor-readiness coaching to finalise their pitch decks and investment profiles ahead of the conference.

The first day featured guest speaker sessions from government, finance and academia, covering investment opportunities in agribusiness value chains, de-risking Agri-SME investment and what it takes to build investment-ready enterprises.

The second day turned the focus to the entrepreneurs. The selected SMEs pitched their businesses to an investor panel, followed by one-on-one sessions in a dedicated Deal Structuring Room, where investors and entrepreneurs explored term sheets and expressions of interest. Note-takers captured commitments to support post-conference follow-up.

The conference marked a practical step towards closing the financing gap facing Agric-SMEs in Nigeria, connecting well-prepared enterprises directly with the capital they need to grow.