Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA), Foyinsolami Akinjayeju, has tasked small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to rethink their strategy to financing, urging them to look beyond typical loans and determine capital that aligns with their operational wants, development ambitions and compensation capability.
Akinjayeju made this name throughout a panel dialogue titled “Access to Capital Beyond Loans: What SMEs Need to Know in 2026” on the ninth version of the Caladium Lagos SME (CLSME) Bootcamp, held in Lagos.
Drawing on EFInA’s A2F 2026 insights, Akinjayeju famous that solely about10 per cent of Nigerians had accessed formal credit score, highlighting the necessity to enhance entry to acceptable financing whereas serving to entrepreneurs make knowledgeable borrowing choices.
She cautioned that debt might speed up enterprise failure if compensation obligations exceed a enterprise’s capability to generate money circulation. Rather than treating borrowing because the default response to a funding want, she inspired entrepreneurs to assess their productive capability, determine operational bottlenecks, and decide what sort of financing would handle their particular challenges.
“Before seeking capital, business owners need to understand their productive capacity, identify the constraints holding their businesses back and determine what financing is appropriate for their needs. The question is not simply how to get money, but how to get the right kind of capital for the right purpose,” she mentioned.
Akinjayeju outlined three issues for SMEs looking for capital: goal, proof and companions. Purpose requires enterprise homeowners to set up precisely what the funding will obtain and the way it will handle a particular enterprise want. Proof entails demonstrating the power to execute by way of dependable monetary data, money circulation proof, repeat buyer orders, and a monitor document of fulfilling commitments. Partners refer to relationships with clients, suppliers, traders and different enterprise associates who could present financing or facilitate entry to it.
She inspired enterprise homeowners to look beyond typical loans, introducing them to the mnemonic capital as a framework for understanding seven various financing pathways. These embrace: buyer advances and deposit-backed pre-orders; asset leasing, which permits companies to entry productive equipment and gear with out paying the complete buy worth upfront; payables and provider credit score, by way of negotiated cost phrases that liberate working capital; bill financing to allow companies to get hold of early cost in opposition to qualifying unpaid invoices; third-party fairness investments, by way of which companies elevate capital in trade for possession; awards and grants that may present non-repayable funding for eligible programmes; and leveraged group financing within the type of financial savings and credit score inside cooperatives.
Akinjayeju emphasised that the precise financing choice just isn’t essentially the best to get hold of, and that not all seven pathways will go well with each enterprise.
“Entrepreneurs must assess which option best aligns with their business stage, funding purpose, cash flow and growth ambitions, while carefully considering the obligations and trade-offs associated with each source of capital,” she mentioned,
Furthermore, Akinjayeju famous the necessity for enterprise homeowners to construct relationships earlier than they want financing.
“ A history of trust, reliable delivery and sound business practices can strengthen their ability to secure support when funding opportunities arise,” she defined.
The panel dialog addressed a persistent problem within the SME ecosystem: entrepreneurs typically determine lack of capital as their main impediment, whereas funders want proof that companies can use financing successfully and meet their obligations. Speaking on the significance of the dialogue, convener of the CLSME Bootcamp, Ayo Bankole Akintujoye, famous that capital is continuously cited as the most important impediment to enterprise development, even when entrepreneurs might have to handle different constraints first. He defined that the panel was designed to assist enterprise homeowners look at their financing wants extra rigorously and perceive the vary of choices out there to them.
The CLSME Bootcamp is a non-profit initiative devoted to equipping entrepreneurs with administration, management and execution capabilities. Across its first eight editions, the platform straight impacted greater than 10,000 SMEs. The ninth version introduced collectively greater than 1,500 contributors on-site, with a further 2,000 anticipated to be a part of just about from throughout Africa.
The dialogue additionally featured Feyisayo Alayande, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), and Ikechi Onyeneke, Head of Business Development, Enterprise Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank. Moderated by the Caladium Lagos SME Bootcamp Convener, Ayo Bankole Akintujoye, the session examined financing choices out there to SMEs, funding readiness and the components that affect financing choices.
EFInA continues to advance monetary inclusion by supporting the event of an inclusive monetary system that expands entry to high quality monetary companies and creates alternatives for people and companies throughout Nigeria.
