By Abu Adamu
The Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF) has challenged leaders in Northern Nigeria to confront the structural weaknesses holding back youth entrepreneurship in the region, warning that the North has abundant ideas and talent but lacks the enterprise structures, evidence, discipline, and capacity needed to turn them into sustainable businesses.
The Foundation also urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to move beyond merely disbursing loans to young people and instead build a pipeline of bankable enterprises capable of attracting finance, creating jobs, and surviving over the long term.
The call was contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna by the Director-General of SABMF, Engr. Abubakar Umar, following the Foundation’s August 2026 Monthly Virtual Mentorship Webinar themed, “From Business Idea to Bankable Enterprises.”
The webinar, delivered by SABMF Director of Finance and Administration, Dr Haruna Jumare, examined the barriers preventing young entrepreneurs, particularly in Northern Nigeria, from transforming promising ideas into businesses capable of attracting investment.
According to the Foundation, Northern Nigeria suffers no shortage of ideas, creativity, or entrepreneurial potential. The greater challenge is the absence of adequate structures, credible business records, financial discipline, and institutional capacity to convert that potential into viable enterprises.
“Capital is not the starting point. It is a consequence of becoming investable,” the Foundation said.
SABMF identified agriculture and agribusiness, the digital economy, manufacturing and processing, as well as creative and cultural industries as areas with significant opportunities for young entrepreneurs across the North.
It stressed, however, that young people must be equipped to establish businesses capable of creating employment, expanding value chains, and remaining viable beyond their formative stages.
The Foundation identified poor record-keeping, mixing personal and business finances, weak business plans, limited understanding of financing options, and failure to formalise businesses as some of the major obstacles preventing young entrepreneurs from securing finance.
It noted that many entrepreneurs approach banks and investors armed with enthusiasm and promising ideas but without evidence of market demand, profitability, cash flow, or the managerial capacity required to convince financiers that their businesses are viable.
To bridge the gap, SABMF advocated comprehensive Business Development Support Services covering entrepreneurship training, mentorship, bookkeeping, financial management, and business-plan development.
It also recommended market research, regulatory compliance, digitalisation, loan and grant packaging, and sustained post-financing support.
The Foundation proposed the establishment of a Youth Enterprise Development and Finance Readiness Programme that would provide a structured pathway for transforming ideas into sustainable, investment-ready enterprises.
Under the proposed model, the first stage, Enterprise Discovery, would identify and assess young people with viable business ideas.
This would be followed by an Entrepreneurship Boot Camp to strengthen participants’ competence in business modelling, financial literacy, marketing, and the use of digital tools.
A Business Clinic would subsequently provide individual assessments and professional mentoring to identify weaknesses in each enterprise and determine the interventions required to address them.
The fourth stage, Bankability Preparation, would help qualified entrepreneurs prepare credible business plans, feasibility studies, and realistic financial projections.
At the Finance Linkage stage, businesses considered ready for investment would be connected with commercial banks, investors, the Bank of Industry, and other relevant financing programmes.
The process would culminate in Post-Financing Mentorship, providing continued guidance, monitoring, and accountability to ensure that beneficiaries properly deploy funds and build sustainable businesses.
SABMF said the approach would fundamentally shift youth empowerment from isolated training programmes and loan disbursements to a complete enterprise-development pipeline.
The Foundation also advocated greater use of business clusters and cooperatives to help young entrepreneurs overcome the disadvantages associated with operating individually.
It said organised groups could aggregate production, purchase inputs and equipment more cheaply, standardise product quality, and build the scale necessary to attract institutional buyers.
“Such groups can also negotiate better prices while attracting institutional buyers and financiers,” the Foundation said.
SABMF warned young entrepreneurs against borrowing money before validating their business ideas or diverting business loans to personal consumption.
It also cautioned against unrealistic revenue projections, failure to account for operating costs, and accepting financing products whose repayment terms are unsuitable for the businesses involved.
Entrepreneurs were encouraged to maintain proper financial records, separate personal and business finances, formalise their operations, and establish banking relationships well before they require credit.
The Foundation also warned young people against fraudsters who demand payments while claiming they can guarantee access to loans or other financing.
SABMF called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, financial institutions, development partners, private investors, and youth-focused organisations to create a more effective ecosystem for entrepreneurship and responsible financing across the North.
It said the pathway to sustainable youth entrepreneurship should follow a clear progression: “Ideas, Skills, Structure, Markets, Finance, and Scale.”
The Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to promoting knowledge, leadership, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunities for young people across Northern Nigeria.
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