The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund ($\text{LSETF}$) has released its 10-year impact report, detailing a massive structural intervention in the state’s informal and small business sectors.
Speaking at a media briefing in Ikeja, the Executive Secretary of the Fund, Feyisayo Alayande, announced that the agency has disbursed over ₦15 billion in low-interest credit to more than 20,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) since its inception in 2016.
The decade-long capital injection has served as a powerful engine for local employment, generating more than 320,000 direct and indirect jobs across Africa’s largest sub-national economy.
Furthermore, the fund’s targeted stabilization interventions helped protect approximately 173,000 jobs that were at risk of being lost to macroeconomic shocks, currency fluctuations, and operational challenges.
High Loan Recovery Counters Small Business Risk Stereotypes
A standout figure in the 10-year report is the fund’s exceptional credit recovery performance. Alayande revealed that the agency has achieved a 94.53% loan repayment rate among its MSME borrowers.
In an economy where commercial banks frequently charge high interest rates due to the perceived default risks of small businesses, this recovery rate proves that local micro-enterprises are highly reliable credit partners when given fair terms and proper structured support.
To complement its direct financing programs, the $\text{LSETF}$ has focused heavily on structural business training. More than 82,000 small business owners have completed capacity-building courses designed to improve financial record-keeping, supply chain management, and long-term business survival.
Through its tech-focused Lagos Innovates program, the agency has also supported over 1,200 technology startups and trained 3,300 tech professionals, successfully linking over 30,000 young people directly to open jobs.
Global Partnerships and Inclusive Micro-Mobility
The fund’s operational reach has been significantly boosted by partnerships with international development organizations and private corporate giants. Collaborations with the United Nations Development Programme ($\text{UNDP}$), the German International Development Agency ($\text{GIZ}$), King’s Trust International, and Lafarge Africa Plc have allowed the fund to expand its programs into underserved rural and semi-urban communities.
Alayande shared notable success stories from these combined initiatives, including a woman living with a disability who was trained in mobile hardware repairs and successfully launched her own repair shop.
She also highlighted a female tech founder who, after coming through the Lagos Innovates track, went on to showcase her software platform internationally at the GITEX technology conference.
