President Bola Tinubu has launched the Renewed Hope Enterprise Bridge Initiative, which is designed to serve as a structured channel for continuous engagement between government and entrepreneurs in the country.
Speaking at the official launch of the initiative and its website at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, on Thursday, the President, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, pointed out that the current administration understands the weight entrepreneurs carry.
He said while there had been a quiet disconnect between policymakers and those who must navigate the policies daily, the Renewed Hope Enterprise Bridge Initiative is aimed at addressing the gap.
“One side works with frameworks and projections; the other works with immediacy and risk. Bringing both into the same room is not symbolic; it is necessary.
“If a policy is to be useful, it must be informed by lived experience. And if an enterprise is to thrive, it must be supported by a system that understands it,” President Tinubu stated.
The Nigerian leader noted that no government can design an effective response from a distance if it is really determined to get it right.
“Therefore, we must listen carefully, interrogate honestly and respond deliberately. You can only treat what you have properly diagnosed. And you cannot diagnose without listening. Across this country, business operates under conditions that would test even the most established system elsewhere.
“Yet, you persist; you build; you employ; you adapt. We appreciate your contribution. At the same time, we are conscious that a policy must do more than exist on paper. It must translate into real improvement in how businesses start, grow, and compete. That is why today matters,” he added.
The President commended Nigerian entrepreneurs for their role in keeping the nation’s economy moving, often under difficult circumstances, even as he assured that his administration is not indifferent to their realities.
He further assured that ongoing work, continued engagement, and necessary adjustments are in progress.
The Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, highlighted the potential in the creative industry, noting that it is capable of attracting foreign investment into the country and boosting entrepreneurship development.
Musawa said the Renewed Hope administration of President Tinubu has been working assiduously to improve the nation’s infra-investment and policy framework with a view to improving the confidence of international investors.
“Creative and digital economies are the two industries or sectors that have the most ability to give the return that entrepreneurs are looking for because those are two industries that have the ability to give huge returns more than any other sector,” she stated.
In her opening remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development, Chalya Shagaya, said President Tinubu’s belief in the role of entrepreneurs in driving national growth is both clear and consistent.
Shagaya added the President remains committed to building an economy that works for all Nigerians, “particularly those who create jobs and drive innovation.
“It is what has made this engagement possible. “If we are to achieve our national ambition of building a trillion-dollar economy, entrepreneurs must be at the center of the conversation consistently, deliberately, and meaningfully,” she said.
On the theme of the event, “Hustle Meets Policy,” she said, for many entrepreneurs, the hustle is not abstract but their daily reality, which, according to her, is reflected in the early mornings, the uncertainty, the risks they take, and the resilience they demonstrate.
Shagaya acknowledged the continued support of President Tinubu to entrepreneurship development, even as she recognised the steady commitment of Vice President Kashim Shettima to enterprise development in Nigeria.
She also expressed appreciation to the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Gbajabiamila, and the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Hassan Ibrahim Hadejia, whose firm belief in the initiative made it possible.