GEEP Seeks Partnership with NIMC, SMEDAN to Strengthen Support for SMEs and Farmers
The National Programme Manager of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Mr. Hamza Baba, paid a courtesy visit to the Director‑General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engineer Abisoye Coker, at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja. Mr. Baba also met with the Director‑General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr. Charles ODII, to explore areas of collaboration and formal partnership.
In a statement signed by the Director Public Relations of the Program, Attari Hope, said the meeting with NIMC focused on strengthening beneficiary identification, registration and verification for GEEP target groups — market women, traders, artisans and smallholder farmers across the country. Mr. Baba confirmed GEEP’s intention to register beneficiaries by occupation (e.g., traders, market operators, smallholder farmers) and to build a reliable data‑sharing and verification mechanism between the two agencies.
Engineer Abisoye Coker reaffirmed NIMC’s commitment to a structured partnership that leverages the Commission’s nationwide platform and field operatives to support GEEP enumerators and desk officers (GEEPDECO). Both parties stressed the importance of ensuring that all GEEP beneficiaries possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to eliminate duplication, improve transparency, and ensure that only verified individuals benefit from the programme.
During the courtesy call with SMEDAN, Mr. Baba and Dr. ODII identified complementary areas for collaboration, including:
• Capacity building and financial literacy training for micro and small businesses to support the objectives of GEEP 3.0.
• Digital transformation support, including extending SMEDAN’s partnerships with digital platforms to GEEP beneficiaries to improve record‑keeping, expense tracking and payroll management.
• Joint programme development targeting underserved groups — women, youth and artisans — and co‑hosting stakeholder engagements to promote investment opportunities and refine SME financing policies.
• Strengthening linkages between SMEDAN’s Agric Business Development and Empowerment Programme and GEEP’s FarmerMoni initiative to combine technical support, market access and financial empowerment for smallholder farmers.
Both agencies agreed that combining SMEDAN’s technical expertise and market networks with GEEP’s financial empowerment instruments would amplify impact, support rural economic development and contribute to the Federal Government’s broader economic objectives.
Representatives from the three agencies will develop a framework for collaboration and a roadmap for implementation, beginning with beneficiary registration and verification processes and rolling out coordinated training and digital support initiatives for GEEP 3.0 beneficiaries.