The Lagos State Government has unveiled plans
to generate an additional $1 billion in annual foreign exchange earnings
from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the next five years, as part of
its efforts to expand non-oil exports and strengthen the state’s economy.
The target was announced following the graduation of 253
beneficiaries of the Lagos State Export Readiness Training Programme
(LASERP), with 20 of the new graduates set to represent Lagos and showcase “Made
in Lagos” products at the 2025 Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers,
Algeria, this September.
Lagos Leads in Non-Oil Exports
Speaking at the graduation ceremony on Monday, August
25, 2025, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Special
Adviser on Works, Dr. Adekunle Olayinka, said Lagos already contributes
over 60% of Nigeria’s non-oil exports, which were valued at $5.3
billion in 2024.
He explained that the LASERP initiative was designed
to equip entrepreneurs with the skills to scale their businesses globally and
to help drive the state’s non-oil export agenda.
“From the very beginning of this administration, we
understood that the destiny of Lagos could not and would not be built on oil
alone, nor solely on large corporations. Our economic future rests on the
vibrancy of our micro, small, and medium enterprises — the true backbone of our
economy, the heartbeat of our markets, and the silent engines of innovation,”
Sanwo-Olu said.
According to him, the SMEs trained under LASERP are
expected to drive an additional $1 billion in foreign exchange inflows
annually within the next five years.
Building Global Competitors
Sanwo-Olu highlighted that the programme was conceived
to prepare Lagos entrepreneurs to compete on the global stage.
“When LASERP was conceived, our vision was clear: to
prepare Lagos entrepreneurs to compete beyond our shores, to diversify our
economy away from oil, and to position Lagos as the gateway of trade for
Nigeria and Africa. Today, as we witness the graduation of these exceptional
SMEs, we see that vision become reality. You are now positioned to scale,
innovate, and stand tall in regional and global markets,” he said.
Federal Government Commends Programme
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Finance
and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, represented by his
Special Adviser on Communications, Media and Publicity, Dr. Ogho Okiti,
praised the collaboration between Afreximbank and ImpactHER, noting that
strategic partnerships were key to unlocking Nigeria’s export potential.
“The programme has produced exporters, innovators, and
pioneers who will carry the Lagos spirit across Africa. Under the visionary
leadership of Mr. Governor and Mr. Deputy Governor, Lagos has declared boldly:
we will not be local champions; we will be global competitors. That is why
LASERP was born — to move our SMEs from the streets of Lagos to the shelves of
the world,” he said.
Related Development: Leather Hub Launch
In a related development, the First Lady of
Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, formally commissioned the Lagos State
Industrial Leather Hub in Mushin over the weekend.
The state-of-the-art facility, developed by the
Sanwo-Olu administration, is projected to generate 10,000 direct jobs
across the leather production value chain.
Governor Sanwo-Olu added that over 150,000 artisans
would benefit from training and start-up support offered by the hub, which is
expected to contribute more than $250 million annually in export earnings
once fully operational.
The Bigger Picture
The LASERP graduation and the commissioning of the
Leather Hub highlight Lagos State’s broader agenda to diversify its economy,
deepen industrialisation, and drive export-led growth.
With SMEs positioned as the “silent engines of
innovation”, the state is betting on local enterprises to push Lagos from
being a regional powerhouse to a global player in trade and manufacturing.
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