By Perpetua Onuegbu
Mrs Abisayo Busari-Akinnadeju, the Founder of Accelerating Business Access (ABA) project, says the project will unlock entrepreneurial potential and solve the human development crisis in the informal sector.
Busari-Akinnadeju said this on Wednesday in Abuja during a news conference and the unveiling of the Accelerating Business Access (ABA) for Africa project.
According to her, the private sector has kept the economy alive through sheer resilience and ingenuity, but they remain excluded, underserved and unseen.
“We call them informal, but there is nothing informal about their contributions. The informal sector employs up to 80 per cent of our labour force and contributes over half of the GDP.
“In spite of this undeniable strength, the sector is marked by profound vulnerability. Most of these businesses operate at a survival level.
“They lack legal recognition, access to credit, or social protection. For them, a single illness, accident or a day without sales can wipe out years of effort.
“This is not just an economic problem. It is a human development crisis,” Busari-Akinnadeju said.
The ABA founder said the project would bridge the resilience of entrepreneurs and the systems that could unlock their growth.
She added that the vision was to turn exclusion into inclusion, replace survival with dignity and to transform hidden potential into national prosperity.
“Our work will be driven by three interconnected pillars: Formal Identity and Recognition, Digital and Financial Empowerment and Access to Capital and Ecosystem Support.
“Without legal recognition, businesses are locked out of growth opportunities; ABA will partner with the Corporate Affairs Commission to make formalisation accessible and affordable.
“We will provide practical, hands-on financial education and digital onboarding, teaching how to take loans, manage it, track sales and grow sustainably.
“We are beginning with the pilot programme in Nasarawa, FCT and Ondo State. The three regions were chosen deliberately for their diversity and potential.”
She said with the new tax reforms, Nigeria had entered a new fiscal era where many entrepreneurs saw the reforms as burdens.
According to her, ABA would help to build trust and a pathway to opportunities and dignity.
Busari-Akinnadeju urged policymakers, partners in finance and business, media and other stakeholders to join ABA in building an inclusive model that leaves no entrepreneur behind.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Busari-Akinnadeju, is the convener of the #IAMANIGERERIAN conference and founder of One Nigeria Citizenship Appreciation Initiative, an NGO, also known as Project One.(NAN)