The FATE Foundation has stated that Nigerian businesses created a total of 14,269 jobs in 2025, even as small businesses reported a net job loss over the past year. The organisation disclosed this in its 2025 State of Entrepreneurship Report, released on Wednesday in Lagos.

The report, which surveyed 10,882 businesses across the 36 states and the FCT, assessed enterprise growth, sectoral resilience and the effects of ongoing macroeconomic reforms on small businesses.

Executive Director of FATE Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi, noted that MSMEs were operating in a high-cost environment shaped by monetary tightening, FX unification, subsidy removal and recent tax reforms. She asserted that the 2025 edition came at “a crucial junction for the nation.”

She said, “The 2025 State of Entrepreneurship Index, calculated at 0.47 out of 1.0, reflects the first marginal increase recorded since 2022.” Adeyemi added that “91 per cent of entrepreneurs maintain confidence in their business prospects, with over half rating the environment as ‘good’ or ‘very good’.”

The survey showed that entrepreneurs continued to hire despite harsh operating conditions. Out of the 14,269 jobs created, 9,083 were full-time, while 5,186 were part-time. However, 16,571 jobs were lost in the same period, resulting in a net loss of about 2,300 jobs.

FATE Foundation described the pattern as evidence of a sector that “remains resilient but fragile”, noting that most new hires were limited to firms employing only one to three workers.

“This pattern shows a sector marked by resilience but also fragility. While entrepreneurs continue to generate employment despite high operating costs, weak demand and constrained access to finance, many businesses are also losing workers,” it read.

One of the report’s major highlights was the performance of female-led enterprises. Although only 26.3 per cent of female entrepreneurs accessed finance from an institution, 69.2 per cent of women-led firms reported business growth, outperforming male entrepreneurs who recorded 65.8 per cent.

The report stated, “Female entrepreneurs continued to dominate the nano and micro segments, where entry barriers are lower, even as financing and market-access challenges persist.”

It also revealed strong female business birth rates in Jigawa, Kwara and Adamawa, citing increasing access to microcredit, digital tools and empowerment programmes in emerging regions.

At the sub-national level, Kogi (0.65), Kwara (0.63) and Bauchi (0.60) ranked as the top-performing states on the Entrepreneurship Index. Lagos, Jigawa and Taraba also performed strongly.

However, Gombe (0.24), Imo (0.31) and Kaduna (0.32) ranked lowest, with weak infrastructure, poor financing access and limited support systems cited as major constraints.

Entrepreneurs identified access to affordable credit as the most critical constraint for the fourth consecutive year. Others include policy instability, limited markets and weak business support.

Adeyemi noted that “the most pressing challenges are now institutional and market-related”, stressing the need for regulatory coherence and stronger capacity building.

In his keynote address, Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, stated that the government is pursuing an industrialisation plan that ensures Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises “scale, not struggle.”

He said, “We are working towards building an industrial economy where manufacturing growth does not shrink, where innovation leads and youth enterprise becomes a source of national power, not frustration.”

He added that the ministry was developing industrial energy corridors, strengthening credit guarantees, establishing MSME financing windows, and expanding export incentives under AfCFTA.

Founder and Chairman of FATE Foundation, Fola Adeola, said the 2025 dialogue theme, From Enterprise to Industry, underscored the need to transform MSMEs into engines of industrial capacity.

He said, “Industrialisation requires coherence across policy, coordination across institutions and collaboration across sectors,” stressing that MSMEs must not be treated as “small players on the margins” but recognised as essential to Nigeria’s economic future.

The report recommended urgent reforms in access to finance, infrastructure, security, regulatory stability and power supply. It added that improving digital adoption, formalisation, and market linkages would be crucial for strengthening enterprise resilience.

FATE Foundation asserted that its findings provide “the precise data needed for policymakers to effectively tackle institutional hurdles” and unlock the productivity of Nigeria’s MSMEs.